Under Your Spell
by CameronZinner
Summary: Max drinks a magic potion - giving him the power to charm anyone he pleases into a state of pure and uncontrollable lust. Too bad the only one in the room is Justin... Justin/Max. Rated M for some steamy boy-on-boy action and bad language! Slash & yaoi & incest - oh my! Please review!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I obviously do not own Wizards of Waverly Place or the characters. This fic takes place some time during Season 4, but before the Family Wizard competition. This is my first WOWP fan-fic! Enjoy! (and please review!)

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"Harder!" Justin said, his teeth clenched and his sinewy hands grasping the stiff rod. He rolled his head back in fatigue - panting - and renewed his grip. "Put your back into it!"

"I'm...trying...Justin!" Max said, strengthening his hold and anchoring his socked and sweaty feet on the cold hard ground of the lair. Their perspiring bodies strained to the rhythm of their adolescent grunts, their gulps of burning saliva perfectly synchronous. With struggling shoulders pressed side-by-side, the Russo boys mustered up any strength they had left and heaved.

After an unsuccessful try, Max looked wearily over to his brother, locked eyes, and nodded.

"1...2...3!"

Max felt his brother's brawny shoulder flex against his, and tugged. "I can feel it coming Justin!". After one more pull and a final burst of energy the two flung back and landed on the floor. They laid in one mangled heap of arms and legs, until Max heard his brother groan from beneath him.

"Dude..." Justin said almost inaudibly. "Get your butt out of my face." Two hands shoved Max onto the ground. He looked over, and saw Justin scrutinizing the magic wand in his hand.

"At least we got it out of the wall..." Max said, shrugging his shoulders and flashing a childish grin.

Justin's eyes widened to twice their size. Max knew this look all too well: the way his eyebrows furled, his forehead creased into fine lines, his hands clenched into fists, and his lips snarled and tightened as though they were squeezing a hard candy. Either he was burning with rage, or Alex had unleashed a colony of poisonous fire-ants in his boxers.

"At _least _we got it out of the wall?! This is my WAND, Max! My WAND! And you managed to get it stuck in the wall _HOW_ EXACTLY?" Justin asked, his voice high-pitched and breathy.

Max's gaze fell to the ground and he fumbled his fingers. "Well..." he said, chuckling uneasily, "I was looking through the spell book for a way to turn your wand into a soccer ball to play catch...Y'know...because it gets kinda lonely around here with you reading all those books and stuff...And mom always tries to get us to exercise..."

"Get to the point, Max!"

Max felt Justin's stern eyes on his face and continued cautiously. "So...I did the spell...And instead of saying _wand-to-ball..." _he paused to chuckle,_ "_I must've said _wand-through-wall_." Max chortled ignorantly, but was surprised to see Justin was clearly not buying it. "All in a day's fun, am I right?"

As if he had been momentarily possessed by a murderous demon, Justin raised his arms to choke his brother - froze - but held them, fists clenched, in the air.

"Has anyone told you that you look just like Dad when you do that thing with your eyes...Y'know, when you make them pop out like this." Max said, imitating Justin's fuming expression and howled with laughter. "And you have a vein that's probably gonna explode on the side of your forehead...Yea, right there." Max reached his index finger to point out his observation, but was swiftly intercepted.

"This isn't funny, MAX!" Justin held out the wand in his hand and pointed at it with the other. "You see this? That's a scratch, Max. No polish is going to get that out."

Max looked down, then smiled. "I'm sure I know a spell to fix-"

"NO!" Justin said, cutting him off. "You've done _enough,_" he said, stammering. He paused, then wiped the outrage off his face. A sudden calm washed over him, and he toned down his voice. "Look, Max, I can't be babysitting you whenever Mom and Dad are out. At least if Alex was here she'd keep you occupied."

"I'm sorry...You know I really don't mean to be this annoying...If you give me another chance I can try the spell again-"

"NO!" Justin said with wide eyes again. "What part of that don't you understand?"

"But I really do know how to -"

"You know what? How about you mind your own business and I'll mind mine. And the spell book is off limits. Do you understand me? O-F-F L-I-M-I-T-S," Justin said, spelling out his frustration.

Max processed the letters in his head, but was dumbfounded. "What's an offel-mit? Is that like some sort of mitten I don't know about or what?"

"Jesus Christ, Max..."

"How can that spell Jesus Christ if it has an L? And an F? And a T?"

Justin closed his eyes and let out a puff of hot air to cool his nerves. It was times like these when Max realized how Justin really saw him: nothing more than an irritation. A teenage bother with the brain of a newborn panda - and a dumb newborn panda at that.

"Are you still mad?"

"Yes."

"...at me?"

"Yes, Max, I am."

Max sighed. "Not what I was hoping for...Would a Max-shake make it better?"

Justin blinked at him. "What's a Max Shake?"

"Well, it's kinda like a milk-shake, except instead of milk..." Max leaned in to whisper to his brother, "I use ketchup...and a splash of hot-sauce. Makes all the difference."

"Wouldn't that just make more sauce?"

"No, not when I add chocolate sprinkles and orange juice."

Justin looked as though he was going to gag. "As tasty as that sounds, I'll have to pass." Justin stood up and placed his wand back carefully on its perch on the work bench, and paced back to the brown recliner. He picked up his book by the spine from the side table, and returned to his reading.

Max sighed. As far as his brother was concerned, he was always going to be the screw-up. _It'll be a cold day in hell when he actually pays attention to me - a hundred below zero if he actually does what I say. _In pure dejection and slight boredom, he looked helplessly around the room. His eyes scanned the lair, and were immediately captivated by a pile of miscellaneous objects - both of the earthly and wizard worlds. His heart did a leap, skip, and bounce in curiosity and he waited no further to examine it.

There wasa mile-high pile of what appeared to be rubbish, but his eyes were drawn to an old, brass chest pushed against the brick wall. Max ran his fingers over the detailed top and traced the carved reliefs of dragons, wizards, phoenix-heads and was fastened shut with two imposing, rusty metal locks. Carefully and precisely, he slipped his index finger into the crevice between a lock and the body of the chest - an art that he had refined with years of experience breaking into Alex or Justin's rooms. He fumbled and managed to pry it loose, and jolted in shock as one of the locks plunged and clattered on the ground.

"_Shit..." _he said under his breath.

"What was that?" Justin asked, his eyes peering over the pages of his novel.

"Uhh...Nothing!"

"Be careful with that, for crying out loud, that chest has been in the family for 500 years."

"Five _HUNDRED!" _Max mouthed in awe, trying to fix the lock back in place. "At least it isn't brand new," he said to himself, "If I break it nobody will care because it's so damn _old_..."

He lifted open the chest and was hit with an old, musty air that smelled like one of his Dad's closet - only slightly more tolerable. He squinted as flecks of dust bombarded his eyes, and wafted away the stagnant breeze. He let the top rest against the wall and took a long look at the contents before rummaging. A hardcover copy of _The Secrets to a Successful Family Business_, a sequined cape with a peeling decal of a disco-ball, half a magic wand, a pair of brown leather penny-loafers, a couple of yellowing envelopes all addressed to 'Jerome P. Russo', a Spanish-English dictionary, three volumes of _Wizards Weekly Magazine _from 1983..._This is all Dad's trash._

Max sighed, and reached over to close the chest when a sparkling glass bottle caught his eye. He reached in and picked up the vial in his hands. Swishing around the fluorescent purple liquid inside, Max was hypnotized. _Justin should know what this is..._

_"_Hey Justin," he said, peering over his shoulder, holding the vial daintily between his thumb and index finger. "What is this stuff?"

Justin didn't lift his gaze from the pages of his book. "I don't know Max...if it has a label then read it...You do know how to read, right?"

Max ignored his brother's snappy remark and turned back to face the wall. He held the bottle closely to his face and found a small description, printed in black, flowing text on a thin label.

_Sherwood's Love Potion - for all your lovin' needs. Just drink a drop of this elixir, and the first creature you lock eyes with will be yours for the taking. Warning: Do not ingest more than ONE drop. Not for use in public places or petting zoos. Please enjoy in moderation_. _We are by no means liable for any consequences relating directly or indirectly to the ingestion of this potion._

Max chuckled. "Cool...I wonder what this is doing in Dad's trunk." He thought to himself for a moment, and then it clicked. "Dad always rummages through this chest before going to bed on Valentine's Day...Could he and mom be...nah! They're too ancient!"

He opened the vial and placed the lid on the ground, and took a whiff of the potion. _Smells like a weird combination of peach and gym socks..._ He closed his eyes, and poured the entire contents of the vial in his mouth. It was sour and burned its way down his throat, but the strange taste soon disappeared. Max waited for some fireworks, or a unicorn to suddenly materialize in the lair, or even a leprechaun to grant him a few wishes...but nothing.

"This crappy thing doesn't even work..."

Before he could toss the empty bottle back into the trunk, a sudden jolt of fire raged through his body and he shuddered. As soon as the heat subsided, his skin turn pleasurably warm. He felt his heart grow a pair of wings and flutter like a caged bird in his chest. Max began to see and feel the room in greater clarity and with even greater vibrancy - the dazzling red hues bursting from the carpet like firecrackers and the nippy air of the lair embracing his body like a satin curtain. A certain, familiar tightness formed his jeans, and he knew the potion was doing its trick. "Sweet..." he said smiling to himself." The hardness of his crotch pulsed against the tension of his boxers, and he could almost hear it pleading.

Max looked over at his brother, who remained intently focused on his reading. _If this actually works then I'll have him on a string_.

He stood up and inched stealthily over to the recliner and positioned himself in front of Justin.

"Hey Justin, look over here."

Justin's eyes were still fixed on the book, and he slowly turned a page. "Not now, Max."

"But I have to show you something."

"Max...We went over this..." Justin said impatiently.

"But you need to look now!"

Justin tossed the book to the side table and stood up furiously. He looked Max right in the eye with an aggravated gaze. _Perfect_...

"What could you _possibly _want from me now-"

He froze mid-sentence. Max watched as his eyes grew helplessly large. Justin quivered and broke into an uneasy sweat.

"You okay, dude?" Max asked, grinning devilishly.

"Yeah...yeah...I'm...um...yeah I'm totally...okay. Yup...I am A-okay..." Justin said, shifting uneasily and his voice trailing. Max watched as another tremble rippled through his powerless body. Justin hastily grabbed his crotch and turned beet-red.

"Because you don't seem alright..." As he watched his brother writhe awkwardly in front of him, a veil had been lifted; Max's eyes had suddenly filled with a sudden lust of the scene unfolding before him. He had never noticed how dazzling his brother's gray-green eyes were, how sharp and masculine his face was, how broad and prominent his chest stood. Max eyed his brother lewdly from head to toe, and caught sight of the obvious bulge in his pants.

"What's that you got there?" Max asked, pointing to the outline of his brother's trembling manhood and biting his lip. Justin struggle to keep his urges in check was clear - mostly due to the fact that he was almost blue in the face . Max observed his brother's expression, and knew he couldn't handle it any longer.

"Okay...look...don't laugh at me...but...I have the sudden...need - no - the _urge_ to..."

"Urge to what?" Max asked playfully.

"I need to...okay, how do I say this...Oh GOD!" He clutched his manhood and pushed down on the hard-on with increasing force. "Okay...I need to f-f-f-"

"Freshen up?"

"No."

"Fart?"

"NO!"

"Fold some laundry? Come on, Justin, help me out here."

"I need to FUCK something, anything, ANYONE! URGH!"

Max was taken aback by his brother's blunt request, but allowed him to continue.

"I can't even explain why and you CANNOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS and _PLEASE_ DON'T LAUGH AT ME!"

It was the way his brother was contorting his body that seemed to turn on Max the most.

"What...did...you...DO?!"

Max was caught off guard. _This wasn't in the plan..._

"Why do you always assume I did something?" Max replied, sounding whiny.

"Because that's usually the case around here, if you haven't realized!"

_Time to come clean about this, I guess. Maybe he won't be so mad if I tell him exactly what I drank._

"Well...I drank the love potion."

"The WHAT?!"

"The love pot-"

"I HEARD WHAT YOU SAID! HOW MUCH DID YOU DRINK EXACTLY?"

Max cowered under his brother's gaze.

"The whole bottle...But...but only because I was curious."

"SHIT, MAX! Why do you always do this?!"

"Do what?"

"THIS! You somehow find a way to completely-" Justin paused, and Max watched his eyes slowly roll back. "YOU FUCK EVERYTHING UP! I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND HOW YOU COULD BE SO...SO IDIOTIC! There, I said it!"

"But I don't mean to-"

"A love potion? A LOVE POTION?! _Really_, MAX?"

"I'm sorry..."

"My dick is on _fire _ and I think I'm going to have a heart attack and I'm probably going to _explode_, Max. Do you hear me? EX-the fucking-PLODE!"

"Well, would you like me to help you out?"

Justin recoiled in horror. "MAX! I'M NOT GAY! AND WE'RE BROTHERS! THAT'S DISGUSTING-Oh GOD!" he said, rubbing his erection desperately through his jeans.

"It's only disgusting if you think it is...You know what, fine...I give up...I can go jack-off in my room but you look like someone's shoved a beehive up your ass," Max said.

He saw the indecision on his brother's face and the sense of urgency that overcame him. "Okay...OKAY! But only because I fear for my genitals' well being."

"I thought you'd never ask..." Max chuckled, then paused. "Ha...you said _genitals_..."

He pulled the wand out of the back of his pocket and proceeded with a spell.

_"Clothes-shoes-socks - be gone!"_

With a nimble wave of the wand, Max and Justin's clothes had disappeared into thin air. They stood nude, both cocks fully erect and glistening at the tips.

His cock twinged with excitement. His muscles ached. His heart did a triple back-flip and thumped against his chest.

He wasn't going to wait any longer.

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***CHAPTER 2 WILL BE UP ON THE EVENING OF APRIL 14th, 2013 (Sunday)! SIT TIGHT!**

**A/N:** Forgive me for the cliff hanger. I wasn't finished the fic entirely, so I decided to just post what I had as Chapter 1. I'm really considering making this a full-on fic with like a billion chapters. If I get sufficient feedback, I'll continue the story! (And also forgive me for the cheesy magic spell just a few lines above this...I really couldn't think of anything else...)


	2. Chapter 2

At the first chance he got, Max swooped in to explore his brother's macho physique. With his arms wrapped firmly around his neck, Max pressed his lips against Justin's. They clasped each other's nude bodies in a struggled embrace for what seemed like an eternity. His eyes closed tight and each gasp a struggle for air, Max pressed his bare body closer against the warmth of the other, fueled only by the heat of his desire.

He moved his hands gingerly down the sides of Justin's arms as their lips battled in fiery passion, and snaked them lower down his torso to grope the smoothness of his butt. Justin groaned with each caress of his brother's hands. The grip tightened around his body, and two soft hands squeezed his own ass in retaliation.

"Hey!" Max said, fighting a smile. He looked up into his brother's eyes - hazy, and nearly void of any affection, save for a inkling of the Justin he knew.

Justin smiled back crookedly, breathing heavily on his flushed cheeks, and advanced for yet another eager kiss. He held Max firmly by the waist, rubbing the side of his foot against his as the kiss grew in intensity. Left exhausted by the passionate frenzy, Max retreated.

"Dude..." Max said, beaming, and his fingers tracing his name on Justin's flexed behind, "Who knew you were such a good kisser..."

Justin instinctively grinned with lifeless eyes,holding the weight of Max's heated body as he leaned forward for another peck on the cheek. "Practice...I guess..." he said, shrugging.

"Yeah, Mom's not gonna be so thrilled when she finds out you're practicing with her good pillow."

"Mmmm..." Justin said, then nuzzled his nose against Max's ear. It was understandable he hadn't stripped down for some idle conversation.

A heavy kiss followed, this time Max sucking roughly on his brother's lower lip. The soft, pink lips journeyed down Justin's chin and to the side of his neck. He could feel Justin's cock poking against his thigh, sending a rush of thrill coursing through his trembling body. Justin rubbed his hands against Max's back as he slathered away at his collarbone, and growled in satisfaction.

Holding onto his pecs for support, Max allowed his mouth free roam: tracing the contours of Justin's brawny build, his tongue doing barrel rolls across the broad and sweaty chest and underneath a nipple. He followed a trail of kisses down to his abs, lapping up the briny sweat amassing in drips between the ripples of moist muscle like a hungry dog and grazed his nose to the crotch; all the while, he felt the weight of Justin's hands ruffling his curly hair. Max settled on his knees, holding firmly onto Justin's thighs and was finally at eye level with the main attraction - Justin's cock.

It was longer than he'd expected, looming over him like a thick and rigid baton of meat. The dick was slightly curved upwards, hiding beneath the surface the slightest hint of a vein. At the crown grew curly, thin wisps - matching in shade to his black-brown hair.

"I gotta hand it to you, bro. Who needs a magic wand when you've got this?" Max said from his position on his knees, looking up to his brother's pleasured face. Justin had his hands on his hips, and he smiled.

"You're not too bad yourself, Max" he said, nodding towards Max's semi-erect manhood.

"Are you sure you haven't been using magic to make this thing longer? I mean, come on, Justin, it's pretty obvious..." Max said, analyzing his brother's member with a close eye. He grabbed hold of it firmly with his right hand, and pumped it slowly. He pulled the skin towards him, letting the beads of clear, pre-cum gather in the tip, and slowly pulled it back again to lubricate the pink head.

Justin chuckled impatiently. "No, Max, it's all natural, I swear. Seven and a half inches I got all on my own. No magic, I promise."

Still scrutinizing the throbbing dick, Max grabbed his brothers balls, feeling the weight of them in his hands.

"Is that why you asked for Mom's sewing tape the other day? To measure your dick?," Max said, holding back laughter and catching Justin's embarrassed glance at the corner of his eye. "It's okay bro, been there, done that," he continued, delivering Justin a friendly slap on the side of his ass. Max stuck out his tongue and pushed the skin forward again, letting the pre-cum ooze into his mouth. He pulled his tongue back in and let the taste linger.

"Hm...Salty...I was always thought it would be more sweet." Max licked the head again, lapping up the juices in the slit of Justin's penis. Justin shuddered, releasing the faintest whimper and tugging at a curl in Max's hair.

"_Unghh_...Max...enough chit-chat...get to it..."

_Fine, if that's how he wants it_.

Out of pure frustration, Max gripped the warm muscle tightly and pumped it vigorously, analyzing his brother's gratified expression. Justin's eyes looked as though they had rolled completely backwards, and his balance faltered momentarily.

As he witnessed the initial state of euphoria had gradually dissipated from Justin's face, Max seized the opportunity to take his brother by surprise. He slipped his pink lips onto the throbbing cock, pushing it into his mouth far enough till the engorged head grazed the back of his throat.

"FUCK!" Justin yelped, grabbing onto Max's head for balance.

_I'm not gonna let him off so easy..._

With the cock still in his mouth, Max slurped away with his tongue and bobbed his head back and forth. Justin's grip on his hair grew tighter, and his labored groans grew even louder which each jerk of his dick.

"Fuck...yeah..._Oh fuck_...Don't stop...yeah...Mmm..."

Max maintained his frantic rhythm, and at the first sound of his brothers cries and ragged pants, he abruptly pulled off. The cock was dripping in teenage saliva, still pulsating lazily.

"Why'd you stop?!" Justin asked in an urgent and high-pitched whisper.

Max looked up with the cock still in hand. "You think you can have all the fun? I drank the potion too, y'know. I think I deserve a little brotherly compassion around here."

Justin groaned with frustration. "You can have your fun after I'm finished. And the faster you get to it, the faster we can get outta here and forget this whole thing even happened."

Max huffed. "Fine," he said quietly. Justin's cock promptly renewed its rigidness as Max placed the thick manhood in his hungry mouth. He hummed, sucking the length with as much force as he could muster. His hands, placed soundly on Justin's hips, felt the slightest quiver, and Max sensed that his brother was near the edge.

"Max...I'm...gonna...Oh..._fuck_...Mmmm..."

Max quickened his pace, accelerating his bobbing along the shaft, and it was almost as though the dick in his mouth had sensed the end was near and thickened considerably in girth.

He felt Justin's leg suddenly jolt and his fingers move violently through his hair.

"I'M GONNA...C-C-C-UM...MAX...I'M GONNA...OH _FUCK!_"

Justin's hips bucked forward and after a final cry, Max felt the cock unleash a copious load into his mouth. As the dick erupted, he stubbornly held onto to it with his mouth until the last of the juices had seeped out of its twitching confines, and in one attempt, swallowed his brother's entire seed. The thick, warm liquid, trailed down his tongue and dribbled down his throat. Max pulled off the limp cock and licked up the excess of steaming semen off of his lips. He stood up and came face to face with his brother, whose head was rolled back in complete exhaustion.

Justin slowly opened his eyes, awaking from his daze, and looked strangely at his brother.

"Max...where did my...you know...my-"

"Your jizz?"

Justin nodded. "Yeah...it isn't where I was expecting it would go...Did you...like, sneak in a wet nap at the last minute to clean it up or...?"

Max smirked. "Pft. A wet nap? Please, Justin. I ain't no pussy," he said, trying to impersonate a gangster as best he could.

"Then where did you-"

"All in my mouth, Justin. I swallowed it all. Sucked that fool dry..."

"You swallowed ALL of it?" Justin asked, bewildered.

"Yeah," Max said with pride. "And it wasn't easy. Your dick was about halfway down my throat when you went all Fourth of July on my ass. It just kept going and going and-"

"I get it, Max."

"Y'know, I had high expectations coming into this." He paused, realizing his pun, and snickered. "And to think, it just tastes like clam chowder...or salty egg-whites...or ...or pasta water except a lot thicker and maybe a little less water..."

Max watched as Justin rubbed one of his pecs, easing his post-blowjob fatigue. He smiled to himself. "So you're telling me you didn't like it?"

"No, no, it was fine. I was just expecting something more like...something more like that chicken tortilla soup Mom makes on Cinco de Mayo. Now THAT would make sucking some dick worth it. I'd do it everyday of the week, no problem," Max said, thrilled by the prospect.

"Well," Justin said, pausing to contain his disgust, "I guess its only fair if I returned the favor."

Max's heart fluttered in excitement. He was waiting for that kind of domination over his brother** - **him standing tall while Justin slurped away at his manhood.

"Well get on your knees, Justin, it's time to put that slutty mouth of yours to work."

Before he could display the slightest trace of a cocky grin, Justin pushed him hard by the shoulders. He lost his balance and fell backwards onto the red couch, feeling the suede tickle his bare bottom.

"What was that for?" Max asked, slowly slouching in his seat and spreading his bare legs wide open. Justin stood imposingly in front of him, his eyes fixed on Max's cock - upright and prepared. Before he could even react, Justin descended with precision and placed both of his muscly arms on the head of the couch on either side of Max, keeping him trapped.

Justin leaned forward, inching closer to Max's face while maintaining his eye contact, and breathed on him heavily. Max grabbed the sides of Justin's face and slipped his tongue into his agape mouth, wrestling with Justin's lips in a passionate duel. Justin pulled away, and Max felt the touch of his soft hands slowly caress the his cheek. Their eyes met in a gaze stiff with tension. For a brief flicker, Justin wasn't his brother; rather, he was looking into the perplexed eyes of another breathing being, consumed with carnal desire.

Max watched as his brother nuzzled his nose against the side of his neck, gently kissing down Max's torso as if he were as delicate as porcelain. Max closed his eyes and placed his hand on Justin's head to guide him down to his cock. He whimpered as a warm hand enveloped all seven inches of his manhood, and jerked it with utmost grace. He winced when he felt two hot lips press down on his dick, quickly followed by a tongue slathering the underside of his throbbing shaft. Max groaned.

"Fuck, Justin...who knew you were so good at this sort of thing..."

He felt a quick slap on his abs, and opened his eyes to find Justin staring right at him with an irritated glance as he bobbed down on his cock. "Hey! I'm not saying you do this all the time...unless you...do...Mmmm that's the spot..."

Max curled his toes and felt a tingling warmth overcome him as his brother's blowjob increased in force. He watched, every once in a while, to enjoy the sight of his brother slurping away with the fervor of a horny high-school cheerleader. The semen fizzled in his cock - Max likening the feeling to a pop-can ready to burst. As his climax neared, his mouth opened to moan, but he halted.

_What if I don't warn him..._

With the plan clear in his mind, Max decided he wasn't going to yelp to warn his brother. He could feel his temperature gradually rise, his hairs stand on end, his breathing quicken, and Justin still showed no signs of stopping. He knew he was only a few seconds away from erupting, but he held his breath.

He opened his eyes, squirmed in his chair, and after a penultimate spasm of pleasure he erupted warm spurt after spurt into his brother's mouth.

The attack clearly caught his victim by surprise. Justin coughed, his mouth overflowing with creamy seed, and Max couldn't contain himself.

"Why...didn't you" Justin paused, coughing. "Warn me?"

Max tried his best to restrain his giggles, and rubbed his abs in satisfaction. "Well, its no fun if I tell you. I thought it would be a nice surprise."

Justin grimaced, wiping away a driblet of white cum off his chin.

"So did you swallow it?"

Justin cleared his throat. "Well, yeah, I had to do. If you don't tell me when you're gonna cum then where else am I supposed to put all of it?"

Max cleared a place on the couch beside him as an apologetic gesture, and Justin stood up and sat with his brother on the couch. Staring at the opposite wall, the two sat in post-orgasmic silence.

"So...What did it taste like?"

"Like chocolate sauce."

"Don't play with me, Justin, are you serious?" Max's face lit up with pure joy. _I guess drinking all that chocolate milk has finally paid off...Score!_

_"_NO, Max, I didn't get to taste it because by the time my taste buds woke up it was already halfway down my throat."

"So you admit, you wanted to taste it...but couldn't?"

"I didn't say that..."

"But you implied it. And that's all I needed to hear."

"Whatever..."

They sat beside each other in awkward silence, the Russo Boys, both with limp cocks and sweaty, aching bodies.

"So how was I?" Max asked, rubbing his brother's thigh.

Justin smiled. "Not bad."

"You know," Max said, grinning, "We could've just used magic to fuck a couple'a Swedish models or something."

He looked over to Justin, who was slouched and held a cushion against his chest. He put his hands behind his head and replied without looking back at his brother. "Yeah, I guess we could have."

"But you didn't"

"Yeah."

"Which means I'm pretty talented...y'know...sexually."

"I guess if you put it that way...then yeah."

Max stretched his bare feet and let them rub against his brothers'.

"How about you don't go through Dad's stuff without asking," Justin said, glancing at Max with half-closed eyes.

Max nodded. "Sure. But I mean, it's kinda good I did."

"Good?"

"Well, yeah. I mean this whole thing. Just now. The blow-jobs. It was...nice. I really liked it, Justin."

Max waited for his brother to return the kind gesture, but to his surprise, Justin stood up and walked briskly over to his wand. He recited the 'clothes-on' spell, and staggered towards the side table to pick up his book, splayed wide open.

"You okay, Justin?" Max said, sitting up in concern. Justin fumbled with the book and a bookmark, and headed towards the lair door.

Without turning to look at Max, he answered shakily. "Yes, Max, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You were fine like a minute ago after we-"

"I said I'm fine, Max."

Justin turned around, his face red and his eyes thick with rage. It was a face Max had never seen. He tried so hard to come up with a witty insult, but for the first time in his life, he was afraid to. Justin's lips were drawn in a thin line and he stared blankly at Max.

"I said I'm FINE, Max. Will you just...just leave me alone, okay?"

The large metal door slammed as his brother stormed out.

Soon it was just him, alone in the eerie silence of the lair. He waited for Justin to come back, trying to recall what had provoked such a cold reaction, but his mind drew a blank.

He waited, tapping his barefoot lightly against the cold ground to an imaginary tune, watching the rising and falling of his own chest with every breath.

He waited and waited, until he couldn't even remember what he was waiting for.

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you like it so far! If you're upset that this chapter contained no...y'know...ANAL (there, I said it), don't fret! There'll be lots more action in the chapters to come! As always, please review and let me know what you think!

**Chapter 3 will be up next Sunday evening (April 21)!**


	3. Chapter 3

Rush hour descended upon New York City, and the streets buzzed to life with the casualties of a tiresome workday. The hungry masses poured into delis and cafes on their journey home from the office - way stations to unwind and chat over an impromptu dinner and a chilled beer. The languid July heat clung thick over the high-rises, creeping into every cramped corner of the metropolis. Above the rumble of traffic and the purr of human chatter, the sun waned in the hazy orange sky and slipped over the horizon.

The Waverly Sub Station was filled to the brim with the typical Friday evening crowd, along with a couple of unfamiliar faces. School was out for the summer, which commenced two months of additional shifts for the Russo Boys to their dismay. Jerry and Theresa were well on their way to a restaurant convention in Connecticut and had put Justin and Max in charge of the sub shop until they returned the following afternoon. Considering the events which unfolded the previous evening, the shift was not anticipated to go smoothly.

The sexual encounter, though entirely out of the blue, had left Max feeling more at ease than he had been in a long time - as if his raging teenage hormones had been silenced once he laid his lusting hands on his brother. In spite of what seemed gratifying on Max's end, it was clear Justin hadn't shared in the experience. In fact, by the way he had acted, it was as though Justin didn't want anything to do with it.

Donned in his black apron and a pad of paper with a pen in hand, Max approached his next customer: a fifty-something woman, seated with her chin held up in arrogance and her hands delicately folded in her lap. Ready to take her order, he hovered over her table, and she turned herself in his direction. Two cut-glass earring glinting in the amber light streaming in from the shop window immediately caught his eye. She patted the side of her silver-gray hair pinned up in a bun and adjusted her heavy fur coat. Max smiled.

"Don't you think it's a little too hot out for a winter coat?"

The woman shot him an irritated glance. "That is _none _of your business, young man," she said, enunciating every word. Max noticed a tiny globule of spit pounce onto her bright red lips, and he grinned.

"Well...what can I get you, mam?"

The woman eyed him carefully, then removed the sunglasses off the top of her head and set them neatly down on the table. "I'm here in the Village on business and just thought I'd try something new...My husband's in Jersey and he left the condo locked and didn't even bother to leave me the key! How am I supposed to go back home? That clown...Should've listened to my mother and dumped his sorry behind when I had the chance..." she said harshly, her voice trailing off.

"I don't need to hear your life story, Miss, I just wanna know what you want."

She didn't seem to hear him. Looking around the sub station, the woman was seemingly amused at the tacky decor. "Clever. Whose idea was it to make this place look like a subway station?"

Max smiled proudly. "My Dad, Jerry Russo. He's the owner. Y'know...you're probably the first person to say that..._ever_."

She continued as if he hadn't opened his mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry...I thought you were part of an inner-city youth program...There seems to be a lot of those around here...My mistake...Might I say, I've never heard of this place before..."

"If you did you probably wouldn't have showed up," Max muttered to himself.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing! I...just need you to order so I can finish my shift and y'know...quit standing around. My legs are _killing _me."

The woman squinted her eyes again and looked past Max momentarily. "Do you have pasta here? I'm in the mood for some primavera..."

"No...not since the tomato supplier's farm got shut down for a health violation...something about a beetle infestation..."

"That's a shame. Well...then I think I'll go for some smoked Knoblewurst on pumpernickel with some...swiss cheese...and a side of chicken fricassee...No! Make that salmon tartare...with a Diet Cola - _no_ ice."

Max pressed his pen to his writing pad, but his mind drew a blank. It was his first grade spelling test all over again. No, make that _every_ spelling test he'd ever attempted.

"I'm sorry mam, but do you spell Knoblewurst with two t's or three?"

"Just _one_."

"Okay...I think I got this..."

He paused, then looked over at the woman. It was clear she was not amused.

"Does it have a 'c' by any chance? And a 'w'...or is that just a silent 'k'..."

Shifting in her chair, the woman glared at Max right in the eye. "You expect to _serve _me and you cannot even spell my order? What kind of a waiter are you?"

"C'mon, lady, would it kill you to order something a little easier to write down? And do you really think I know what a pumpernickel is? Y'know what... it's gonna be pastrami on rye with extra pickles for you."

"Ex-_cuse _me but I will not be talked to that way-"

"Do you want me to make it tuna?"

Before she could stop him from walking towards the kitchen, he had already left. The smells of freshly brewed coffee and deli meat wafted into Max's nose has he made his way to the counter, tossing his pad of paper to the side of the cash register. Justin sat on a stool behind the counter, his eyes darting across a Captain Jim-Bob Sherwood comic in concentration.

"Hey Justin, I need you to make me a pastrami on rye, extra pickles before the woman behind me blows her top."

Justin didn't lift his gaze off the page. He furled his brows and inched the comic closer to his face.

"Justin...I said I need you to make a sandwich."

Flipping a page, Justin swiveled away from Max and scratched the side of his ear.

"Are you ignoring me?"

There was no answer.

"Is this about yesterday? Because if it is then I've already said sorry like a hundred times. And it was probably a number much higher than that but you know I can't count past a thousand...C'mon Justin...speak to me..."

At the mention of the previous day, he saw Justin wince as if he had flicked something at his face. His forehead creased into fine lines, and he stared even harder at the pages.

Max might not have been very bright, but he had sensed drinking the love potion was behind his brother's unreasonable anger. After the mutual blow jobs under the influence of the elixir, Justin had stormed off and Max didn't even know why. He had waited in the lair for quite some time, even dozing off for a quick fifteen minutes before realizing someone could have found him naked. He had tried speaking to him over dinner, but at the first sound of his voice Justin took off with his plate of steak and mashed potatoes, straight to his room. Morning had come, and Justin had been pacing around the terrace when Max approached him, but he was given the cold shoulder yet again. There was no way he could abandon him in the middle of an evening shift, so he seized the opportunity to coax answers from Justin.

"Justin...forget what happened...just make the sandwich before that lady whacks me over the head with her purse for getting her order late."

Justin muttered something muffled under his breath, set his comic on the counter, and trudged to the kitchen. After a few minutes and the clattering of dishes, Justin returned with the sandwich, slid it across the counter to Max without even looking at him, and returned to his reading.

"Your sandwich," Justin mumbled, nodding in the direction of the plate.

"Well _thank you_, Justin," Max said. He walked over to the woman with his eyes still fixed on his brother, and tossed the plate onto her table.

"Here," he muttered.

The woman's arms were crossed, her nostrils flared, and her eyes wide in disgust.

"Ex-_cuse_ me but I am NOT going to pay for this. This place is despicable."

The thought of Justin quickly dissipated when he heard her voice, and turned to find the woman fuming. "Oh! Almost forgot. Your cola."

Looking around the restaurant, he found a half-full glass of cola with a floating used napkin sitting alone on an uncleared table across from her. Removing the napkin and tossing it behind him, he placed the glass by her plate. "Enjoy your meal!"

The woman turned flush and stood up in rage. She grabbed her sunglasses and her purse and looked like she was crouched in battle stance.

"If you think I am going to stand for this type of insulting behavior then you must be out of your _mind!_"

"Well... you're standing alright."

He could almost hear her growling. "You...you wretched little imbecile you!"

Max grinned. "Thanks! No one's ever called me that."

The woman staggered to the door with her hands flailing in rage. "You'll be hearing from my lawyers!" she said, before exiting the sub shop.

"That's not the first time we've heard that around here!" Max said. He peeked his head out the door to catch a glimpse of her storming down the alley-way. "Come again! And bring your husband!"

As soon as she disappeared around the corner, Max scampered over to the register past the scrutinizing eyes of the other customers and leaned over the counter, trying to contain his tickles of laughter. "Hey Justin, did you see that? Four words: Hill-ar-i-ous."

Justin had moved onto a different comic and ignored his brother's pleas for a simple conversation.

"That's it. If you don't talk to me then I'm gonna...I'm gonna tell everyone here that we didn't wash the plates today because Dad told us to save on dish-soap.

Justin glared at him with clenched teeth. "You wouldn't..."

"Oh...I'm just getting started."

With a burst of childish glee, Max pounced to the center of the restaurant and cleared his throat.

"Okay...Listen up everyone...The plates that you're eating from are-"

Before he could finish his sentence, a large hand stifled the words from leaving his mouth. Justin quickly jumped in to complete his sentence.

"-are fine China plates which belong to my beautiful mother."

An awkward silence followed.

"And it's her birthday today so everyone give her a big hand."

The customers stared at the Russo boy's antics, mid-bite.

"My _mother_...you know...the _owner's wife, " _Justin continued, nodding his head to garner some praise.

The sub shop broke out in a lazy applause before Justin dragged Max back to the kitchen and shoved him against the edge of the counter.

"What the HELL were you thinking, Max?! Are you _trying _to get this place shut down?" he said in the high-pitched, panicked whisper Max adored.

"Today's Mom's birthday?"

"For God's sake Max..._Why_ are you being so obnoxious?"

"Me?! Obnoxious? You're the one giving me the silent treatment."

Justin immediately went quiet, his arms crossed and his nose scrunched as if he were withholding an important fragment of information.

"Y'know, if you keep ignoring me I might just go back out there and tell 'em-"

"Okay! _Okay, _Max. I'll tell you why..." Justin paused, taking in a deep breath before continuing. "I'll tell you why I'm not talking to you...only because you won't leave me alone if I don't."

Max leaned comfortably against the counter top with his back towards the eating customers with his arms resting on the edge, and eyed his brother. "I'm listening."

Pacing around, his eyes looking down to the floor, Justin answered quietly. "I don't like what happened yesterday."

"And what was that?"

"Don't act like you don't know..."

"Is this because I stepped on your toe before dinner?"

"No..."

"Or because I laughed when Alex put a cold piece of broccoli down your shirt?"

"NO!"

"Then _what _is it?"

Max paused, and the corners of his mouth twisted into a devilish grin. "Is this because I sucked your dick?"

Justin's eyes widened and darted to the eating customers, then back to Max. "Not so loud! Someone's gonna hear!" His voice drifted back to its mumbled tone, and he sighed. "Yes...I mean no...it's...it's what we actually did that...you know..."

"We blew each other?"

"AGAIN, Max, not so loud!"

"Oh stop being such a party pooper, Justin. Admit it, you enjoyed every second my lips were on your you-know-what."

He saw the indecision on his brother's sulky face. "Yeah..." he muttered, defeated, "but it wasn't right. And it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been so stupid and drank that..." he lowered his voice, "...potion."

"You make it seem like it's all my fault."

"Because it is."

Max had prepared a retort, but a woman's voice interrupted him. "Excuse me but I ordered a sandwich about half-an hour ago and I'm still waiting."

Max turned around to find a pregnant woman standing at the counter by the register, her fingers tapping on the granite surface. "You waited half an hour, I'm sure you can wait a few more minutes...And it looks like someone's already hit the buffet in Chinatown..." Max said, pointing at the woman's protruding stomach.

Justin swiftly intervened. "I'm so sorry mam. It's so hard to find good help these days."

"I'm standing right here..." Max said.

"Remind me to give you a 50% discount and a free refill for the inconvenience..." he said, ignoring his brother. The customer returned to her chair, huffing in frustration.

"You know Dad hates it when you give out freebies..."

"And you know Dad must also hate it when you...I don't know...DRINK A MAGIC POTION AND SEDUCE YOUR OLDER BROTHER WITH IT! I mean, who _does _that?!"

"Are you trying to say I'm to blame for all of this?"

"Yes, Max, I think we've established that."

"Okay...okay...I get that. But why are you acting like someone died? You haven't been this depressed since Captain Jim-Bob Sherwood went out of print."

"That's not any of your concern, Max," Justin said, rearranging the order of the spice shakers mindlessly on the counter top.

"Are you horny again?"

Max could tell Justin was caught off-guard by the way his face tightened up and his eyes bulged. Justin sighed, and glanced over to Max.

"Yes..." he muttered.

Max chuckled. "That's it?! And you're all depressed because you don't want me to...y'know...take care of it like I did yesterday..."

"Uh-huh..." Justin said.

"Okay...fine. You make it seem like I _wanted _to...y'know...yesterday...but I was only helping you out."

"Yeah, well you don't have to be concerned anymore. I can deal with this myself until the potion wears off...It _will _wear off, right?"

Max shrugged. "I dunno...I don't remember it saying anything about wearing off."

It took a few moments before the expected reaction appeared on Justin's face. His eyebrows arched, his lower lip curled, and the vein in his forehead swelled. "You mean you don't _know_?!"

"Whoah, whoah Justin, calm down. There wasn't anything on the label," Max said, holding out his hands to guard against any punches thrown in anger. "BUT we can always call the Wizard Potion Associationand ask 'em. No big deal!"

Justin glared at Max incredulously. "How do _you_ know about the Wizard Potion Association?"

"Well...let's just say this isn't the first time I've drank something I wasn't supposed to."

* * *

By 8:30pm the rush of hungry customers into the sub shop had fizzled to a scanty few every now and then, and the Russo boys deemed it was time to close up. Once the entrance sign was flipped to "Sorry, we're closed," Max raced to the kitchen where Justin wiped a counter vigorously with a ragged cloth. The two gathered around the wand-phone, and Max dialed the number swiftly.

"You have it memorized?" Justin asked surprised.

"Yeah."

"And just _how _many times have you called this number...?"

With the wand-phone pressed to his ear, Max listened to the ring, and heard the familiar automated message.

_Thank you for calling the Wizard Potion Association. If you would like to talk to an operator, press 1. If you have recently ingested a potion which has posed a risk to your health and are in need of immediate medical assistance, press 2. If you have been attacked by a dragon and or unicorn or unicorn-like creature within the last 48 hours and are in need of an emergency potion, press 3._

_"_This is gonna take forever," Justin said, trying to listen in.

_If you are looking for a potion gift idea for your loved one and would like assistance, press 12. If you have ingested a potion whose effects are still present, press 13._

Max quickly dialed in _13._

_Please hold while we connect you to a potion specialist. Thank-you._

A gentle Latin tune played on the other end, and Max tapped his feet to the beat.

"Are you in?" Justin asked, eager.

"No, no, I'm on hold."

A click sound followed, and a woman with a resonant voice answered on the other end, reciting what seemed like the same script repeated for every weary caller.

_"Hello and thank-you for calling the Wizard Potion Association. This is Rhonda. I will be your Wizard Assistant today. This call will be recorded for quality purposes."_

"Hi, Rhonda..." Max began, trying to figure out a way to tell her what had unfolded the day before without disclosing any embarrassing details. "Well...I drank a love potion yesterd-"

_"Sherwood's Love Potion?_In the little glass bottle?" Rhonda chimed in.

"Y-y-yes...how did you-"

"_Puh-leaaaaseee, honey, that's the only potion I get calls for 'round here! If you put shiny purple liquid in a cute lil' bottle you just asking for trouble! Am I right? Am I RIGHT?!"_

Max grinned. "Amen to that, Rhonda!"

The call drew on, and Justin had to remind Max to ask her what they had initially called for. After a hearty conversation, Max put down the phone with a satisfied smile.

"So...what did she say?"

Max tossed his wand to the counter, and watched it roll, almost teetering off the edge.

"Judging by how much I drank...A week. Maybe less."

"A _week?!"_

_"_Yeah, Justin...that isn't so bad. Is that not long enough for you?"

Justin grew anxious. "You know what, I shouldn't be surprised. At least by next Friday I can move on with my life." He sighed, then looked out at the empty sub shop. "This place is a mess."

* * *

The two returned to an uncomfortable silence, sweeping up the sub shop and clearing the tables of the day's litter. Justin filled the sink with hot water, and waited as Max brought in a stack of soiled plates and set them, one by one, into the sudsy abyss.

Max grabbed a sponge and scrubbed away at a dish, picking off the stubborn bits off cheese with his nail. Once he deemed it 'spotless', he tossed the plate over to Justin's end of the sink to rinse.

"Easy, Max..." Justin said, dodging a splash of water. "Could you be a bit gentler?"

"I'm trying my best, Justin...Sorry that it isn't good enough for you."

They had worked through half of the pile of cutlery and most of the plates when Max faltered with a large casserole dish and sent it plunging into the soapy basin. A tidal wave of dish water splashed Max all over his torso, drenching both his own t-shirt and Justin's unsuspecting right arm.

"You _see_, Max? This is why I don't let you near the sink..." Justin said, huffing in frustration and squeezing the moisture out of his damp sleeve.

"It's no big deal, Justin." Max said. He pulled his hands out of the sink, wiped them haphazardly on his jeans, then lifted his sopping T-shirt off of his body and chucked it to the corner of the kitchen. The water had mixed with the perspiration on his bare upper body to form dew between the creases of muscle. He glanced up, and to his surprise found Justin staring at his form, open-mouthed and unblinking. He felt Justin's heavy gaze scan his tan chest and drift to his abs, before hastily turning away. Max reached for another plate, but Justin swiftly grabbed it for himself.

"You've done enough for today, Max. I can do the dishes by myself." Justin said without taking another look at Max's half-naked body.

"Fine," Max said, passing the sponge to Justin and walking away from the sink.

A pang of hunger ripped through his stomach; he had only realized he hadn't eaten since noon when a grumble bellowed from the pit of his abdomen. Max scanned the kitchen counter for a quick snack when he spotted a large, lone cucumber on a cutting board. Max picked it up, sniffed it, and licked the rounded green tip.

Bracing the edge of the counter, Max let his butt rest on the surface. With his eyes fixed on Justin, he slid the cucumber slowly past his lips and onto his tongue, letting its thickness fill his mouth and savoring the earthy taste of its green skin. He caught Justin peeking from the corner of his eyes with his jaw tightened and his forehead creased; oblivious, he pushed the vegetable farther into his mouth. It's tip poked the back of his tongue, and he moaned.

"Max...just...take out the trash...or something..." Justin said, scrubbing and rinsing the same plate for the fifth time.

"But I didn't even do anything!" Max said after pulling the cucumber out of his mouth.

"Just do it, Max...please don't argue with me..."

There was no point in trying to prove his innocence, Max thought. He set the vegetable down back where he had found it, and lifted the giant black garbage bag of trash. He had hauled its clattering contents out of the kitchen and into the main eating area when Alex trotted down the staircase. She continued past him towards the door, and Max caught her attention.

"Wanna help me with this?"

Alex did a double-take, arching her eyebrows in confusion.

"How about _no_."

Max sighed, and pulled the bag further before stopping to rest.

"And why are you not wearing - you know what, I'm not even gonna ask...," Alex said, smirking and adjusting a curl in her hair.

Max dragged the bag towards the front entrance, and Alex held the door. "Where you off to anyways?" Max asked.

"I'm meeting Harper and a couple of others at the movies for Night of the Halloween Sorority Party Disaster 5. Rumor has it, it's so scary that its been banned in 32 states. _And _Puerto Rico," Alex chortled. "How cool is that?"

"Pretty cool."

Max hauled the black garbage bag past the threshold of the door and downed the steps before turning back to face Alex.

"Well...good luck with your...trash...And I'm sleeping over at Nellie Rodriguez's...Don't expect me home till like, tomorrow," Alex said, then strolled briskly down the alleyway and disappeared around the corner.

The evening sky had gradually deepened to dusk, and the stars slowly peeked from their slumber to greet the stirring city. Max shivered as a cool summer breeze snaked its way around his bare chest. Night was beginning to set in on Waverly Place, and after placing the bag on the edge of the walkway for pick-up, Max ambled back home bound - gripping the softness of his trembling body to keep warm.

He strolled back into the warmth of the sub shop. It was silent, and yet he could make out the faintest whimper emanating from the kitchen. Determined to see what his brother was up to now, Max tip-toed to the counter, careful not to trip on any chairs.

Max held his breath, slowly pulled off his shoes, and climbed onto the counter. He balanced like a high-wire artist to get a better view, and when his eyes caught sight of his brother, he beamed.

Justin, with his back against the wall of the kitchen, had his hand halfway down his pants. With a pained expression on his face and the slightest moan escaping his agape mouth, his hand struggled to move in the tightness of his jeans.

The view, though entirely satisfying, was not enough. Max had never seen his brother masturbating - let alone in the sub shop.

Squatting beside the cash register, Max stretched his leg across the gap between the two counters and, after a quick countdown in his head, pounced to the other end. As both hands grabbed onto the granite surface for support, he unknowingly knocked over an empty plastic container, sending it plummeting over the edge and startling Justin. He immediately took his hands out of his pants and glared at Max with a pale face and eyes as wide as frisbees.

"It's not what it looks like, Max..." Justin said in his urgent whisper, struggling to find words to explain his predicament.

Max seated himself on the counter, letting his legs dangle over the edge. He grabbed hold of Justin's shoulder and pulled him closer until he could feel the heat of his brother's breath on his face. With a playful grin, he eyed Justin, moving his hand to grope the small of his neck.

A glimmer of yearning sparked in Justin's eyes, but soon faded behind a cloud of apprehension.

"N-n-o, Max..." Justin stammered, his breath hitching in his throat and his eyes unable to meet with Max's. "We're not doing this again..."

Max inched his body closer to Justin's, nestling the other between his legs and wrapping his arms around his neck. He pressed his lips gently against Justin's for an innocent peck, then smoothly retreated. Justin looked up into Max's eyes, and a smile crept to his lips; a midst an intense exchange of glances, his arms slowly found their place around Max's waist.

"Relax, Justin," Max said, shifting himself as close as possible to the warmth of his brother. "It'll be fine."

* * *

**A/N: **Tune in next week for a _steamy _installment of Under Your Spell! **Chapter 4 will be up Sunday, April 28 (between 6 and 7 EST)!** Don't miss it! And once again, please review and let me know what you think! I would love to hear what you guys have to say :)


	4. Chapter 4

The Russo Boys became acquainted with each other, as if for the first time, in the eerie silence of the sub shop.

A splash of water as the faucet dripped. The hum of a radiator. The creak of an expanding wooden door. The stifled symphony of Manhattan night traffic. Fluttering footsteps on asphalt; a thumping night-club.

Restless arms battled and grasped for the warmth of flesh while pining fingers tugged at loose hair. An undying thirst needed to be quenched.

Max's lips brawled his brother's. With every caress and squeeze of Justin's cold hands on the nakedness of his torso, a jolt of current shot through him until all that lingered was a tingle of static. His arms trussed around Justin's neck, the tip of his thumb gently rubbing the bone of his felt himself faltering backwards as though Justin was intent on ambushing him - making love right there on the sub-shop counter, amongst cutlery and cookie jars.

He had sensed Justin was meaning to retreat before things escalated, but after one long gaze in his eyes and a resonant sigh he instigated yet another round of slobbering kisses with strong lips. Justin's meandering hands craftily reached their way under the elastic of Max's boxers. A finger grazed the ticklish crack, and Max moaned, then chuckled. The fever of the embrace had swelled until Max pulled his lips off of the suction of his brother's and leaned back, allowing Justin's head to nestle in the crevasse of his collarbone.

"Mmm..." Max hummed, Justin's flushed cheek against his neck. A glass bottle shifted behind Max on the counter, and had it not been for quick reflexes on Justin's part, it would have plummeted over the edge. Justin swiftly slid it towards the wall and looked back at Max with puppy dog eyes as if he were silently wondering: w_hy did we stop?_

_"_I gotta admit, Justin..." Max said, his socked feet snaking around Justin's legs in between his knees to hold them firmly against the bottom cupboard, "I'm kinda bored."

It didn't appear that Justin had heard. His burning gaze lingered to Max's talking lips.

"How about..." Max said, before being interrupted by a smothering kiss underneath his jaw. "Mmm...how about we take this upstairs..."

Justin shot him an anxious glance. "Why? Everything was going great..." he said in his high-pitched whisper.

"Yeah... But this counter is flattening my butt. I've heard sitting for a long time turns your ass into a pancake."

Max saw the indecision in Justin's face, and it was understandable that he was feeling far too lazy to climb two flights of stairs.

"Besides," Max continued, "someone could peek in through the window and take a picture of us making out...y'know...since Dad's too cheap to install blinds. Next thing you know, we'll be on the front page of tomorrow's paper. But I guess you're okay with that..."

Justin's face lit up with a sudden realization. At once, his glance shot past Max towards the exposed shop windows, and he furled his brows.

"No worries, Justin! Just carry me upstairs and we can pick up where we left off."

As he made his request, Justin smirked. "Me? Carry _you _upstairs? Pft. I'm sure you can walk."

"Well...you definitely work out. I mean, those muscles didn't sprout up out of no where...did they?"

Justin looked flattered by the compliment. "I guess I could...but-"

"But what? You're too much of a pussy?If you've got muscles then you should probably use 'em for things other than jerking off."

He saw a flame of aggression ignite in Justin's eyes - something he had never seen before.

"Pussy? Me? Watch and learn, Max."

Before Max could reply, an brawny arm scooped up his bottom from the counter while another held him up by the legs. Max grabbed hold of Justin's back as he was swooped off the metal surface and carried forward out of the kitchen door and towards the spiral staircase. He grinned, taken a back by his brother's brute strength, and caught a glimpse of his face from the corner of his eye: his strained expression, his jaw clenched, and his neck veiny and rigid like a pillar of flesh.

Max's body was pressed against the contours of muscle outlined by the thin fabric of Justin's shirt. He bounced choppily with each pounce up the stairs, trying to contain his laughter.

"Look at us,"Max said, restraining giggles."We're like a married couple. I call being the husband!"

They had reached the loft after the trek up the staircase, and Justin's unsuccessful attempt to stifle his panting became obvious. He looked down at Max as if he were inspecting his features, pecked him on the corner of his supple lips, and turned towards the second flight of stairs. He paused, leaning against the railing momentarily, and Max patted his hand against his brother's heaving chest.

"What...getting tired?" Max asked teasingly. "I understand Justin. If you only lift 5's and 10's at the gym you're gonna struggle."

Just when he thought his brother was down for the count, Justin looked up the staircase with the same fury that had provoked him earlier and trudged up each step with a snickering Max in his arms.

As soon as they had reached the second floor of the loft, Justin let go of Max's legs. With his arms still wrapped around his brother's neck, Max brought his lips close to Justin's ear and whispered as seductively as he possibly could.

"My ass...is _yours_."

He could tell Justin had chuckled at the corniness of the remark, but he saw the carnal hunger emerge in his eyes. Justin swooped in for an amorous kiss and gently edged him behind into the nearest bedroom. The door was left slightly ajar, and flung open at the first nudge of Max's butt.

Max was unable to keep up with the his brother's fiery lips and his wandering arms, until he was shoved backwards and plummeted onto the softness of the bed. He looked around, realizing he was in his parent's room. It was the largest bedroom in the apartment, grand enough to fit a king size bed and a mahogany dresser. The scent of fresh laundry and his mother's Chanel No. 5 lingered in the air - a far cry from the rotting stench of his own room, in which he had found a twisted comfort. Max leaned back, his finger tips making circles in the satin sheets.

"We're doing it in Mom and Dad's room? Awesome..."

His view of his brother was more than spectacular. Justin struggled to remove the baseball shirt off his body, but managed to slip it over his head and whip it to the corner of the room. _He looks like a Greek God_, Max thought as his eyes followed the curves of muscle. _The smoothness of stone, but hot to touch._

Max quickly retreated from his transfixed state when Justin pounced on his lying body, delivering another onslaught of suffocating kisses. He had the prowess of a tiger, inching over Max's helpless body and trapping him flat on the bed.

Max unbuckled his belt and raised his pelvis to slip it off his body with his lips still pressed on Justin's. He tossed it over the edge, hearing it clatter on the hardwood floor.

Unable to undress any further without pausing the make-out, Max moaned, and Justin impatiently slipped his fingers underneath the band of his boxers, and in one swift move, pulled both his underwear and his jeans simultaneously down to his ankles. His boner sprung up, and as he pulled them off along with his socks until he was free of any clothes, his brother quickly followed suit.

With his eyes fixed on Max's sprawled, nude body on the bed, Justin hurriedly unmounted. He removed the buckle of his belt with an impressive sleight-of-hand and shed his jeans. Max propped himself up to gawk as the sensuous scene unfolded before him, his eyes drifting to the thickness pressed against the cotton of his underwear. Justin yanked the boxers off his legs and the trembling hard-on immediately rose to attention.

"So we meet again..." Max said, bringing himself to the edge of the bed until he was face to face with the beast. It had felt like forever since he and the rigid flesh had last met, despite their last encounter the day before. He waited no further to shove the shaft into his mouth, smiling as the familiar taste of pre-cum filled his aching mouth. Once covering the thick muscle in his saliva, he bobbed along with ease as if he had done the deed many times. _I must be doing a good job_, he thought_. Justin didn't even groan this much yesterday..._

Max had settled into the rhythm when the cock was pulled abruptly out of his mouth, and he was shoved backwards yet again.

"Hey!" Max said, licking a droplet of his brother's juice off his lip. "I was just getting into that."

It didn't appear that the other had taken heed to his words. Justin crawled onto Max's body, grasping his cock with his right hand whilst leaning in for a kiss. Max shuddered at the first touch of his brother's hand. Justin's pumping grew in strength, and Max couldn't help but throw his head back and moan.

Justin quickly recoiled and straightened his back, his knees on either side of Max's torso. He wagged his oozing cock in the air, landing a white driblet on Max's perspiring chest.

"What a tease..." Max said, smiling and shaking is head in mock despair. "You would definitely go far as a stripper."

With his head seemingly still in the clouds, Justin planted his right hand underneath Max's side and motioned for him to flip over. Max's heart raced, but he wasn't going to let his brother have his way so easily.

"Flip over..." Justin said, panting heavily.

"What if I don't?" Max said playfully, batting his lashes at his brother. With one arm still propped on the mattress, he took hold of his own cock and pulled it as far back as he could until its moist tip grazed his abs.

"If you don't...well, then I'm gonna have to make you."

In a display of sheer might, Justin flipped over Max's body with ease, smothering his face in the satin sheet. Max's laughs were muffled, and after regaining a morsel of energy he propped himself up on all fours. He faced the wooden headboard of the bed, only relying on sound and touch to savor the experience.

Max supported his own weight with his two hands pressing firmly on the mattress, his back arched to ensure his butt was in perfect alignment with Justin's dick. His dull view hindered him from the witnessing the reactionon Justin's faceto the sight of his bare butt, and he could only imagine how wide the eyes laying sight on his naked body must have the first brush of Justin's hand on the plumpness of his own ass, he winced, then whimpered.

"Mmm...yeah...talk about some soft hands..."

He heard Justin's breathy giggle behind him, his voice sounding intoxicated. "Hand cream..._duh_ Max," he said, then spanked Max's left ass cheek lightly with his left hand. Max moaned, feeling his cheeks spread apart with two firm hands, and jolted when the bulbous head of Justin's cock grazed his hole.

"No, no, no...you're NOT gonna just stick your dick up my ass without loosening me up first."

"Loosen you up?"

"Yeah...Justin," Max said as if the fact were obvious. It felt strange correcting Justin; it certainly wasn't everyday he got the chance to advise him. "I'll be walking like I've got a tennis ball up my intestines for days if you don't at least stick a finger or two in there and make things easier..._Gosh_, Justin."

"Right..." he heard his brother say behind him, his voice trailing off.

"And here I am thinking I'm the dumb one..."

An awkward silence followed, and Justin's hands still spread apart Max's ass cheeks. He was just about to ask what was taking so long when a wad of spit soaked his ass-hole, followed by a slathering tongue. Caught off guard, Max jerked forward, and eased into the pace of Justin's generous licks.

"Fuck...Justin..." Max moaned. Justin's tongue moved with precision around the tight entrance and gingerly slipped in, sending waves of pleasure through Max's quivering body.

The tongue promptly receded, and was soon followed by a finger, smearing the hole with remaining saliva and awaiting entrance. Max yelped in satisfaction, and another finger joined in, both inching their way into the taut muscle. The fingers struggled at first, but gradually widened the opening to make way for the main attraction.

"Fuck..." Max said amidst moans and grunts. "_Oh_...Mmmm...I think I'm good...you can...Oh _FUCK_...you can stick your-"

The fingers retreated from the aching opening and the tip of Justin's round head pressed against it. Justin grunted, inching the throbbing member slowly past each ring of muscle and slinking its way till it hit the edge of Max's prostate, eliciting curses on both ends.

"_FUCK_ Max..." Justin said from behind him, his voice sounding distant. Max felt the pressure of his brother's palms on the small of his back as the thrusts picked up speed, the bed creaking under their weight.

"Harder Justin..." Max said, his mouth agape. "Harder...Mmmm..._Fuck_...that's the spot..."

Justin clasped Max's waist, the pulsing rod of flesh moving in an out of him with ease. Justin grunted from behind him with every burst of energy, and Max's knees dug deep into the bed.

"No wonder...the girls in porn..." Max said, "yell...so much..._FUCK_...harder!"

The sound of Justin's sweaty thighs slapping Max's butt echoed in the room. He was electrified.

Without any warning, Justin pulled out as swiftly as he had entered and toppled Max over, his back flat against the bed. Justin lifted both of his legs into the air and spread them far apart, crawling in between them to gain access once again.

"Looks like we're doing this face to face then..." Max said, grinning as he slung one leg over Justin's right shoulder and the other resting against the firmness of his pecs. The view, he thought, was _far _better than the headboard - _that's for sure_. He watched Justin's face as the pulsing manhood entered him once again, savoring the adorable way his face turned rosy and scrunched up as if he were about to sneeze.

"Bless you." Max said smiling casually with his brother's twitching cock halfway down his hole.

Justin leaned over and let his weight rest against Max's quivering body, and thrust at a feverish pace whilst growling like a bear. Their faces almost touched; Max parted his lips,urging Justin to open his.

"Fuck..._Fuck_...Oh...Mmm..." the two chimed, eyes half closed and mouths preoccupied in cursing or moaning. With every thrust, the headboard banged against the wall, and Justin momentarily glanced up to ensure dents weren't being made in the wall. Max grappled onto Justin's sweating body above him and held on for dear life as a final surge of speed drove them both to the end. Justin instinctively pulled out and pumped his cock in a frenzy of whines and grunts.

"Fuck...Max...I'm gonna...I'm gonna...Oh _fuck!_"

Justin bucked his hips forward and released rope after rope of warm, hot cum all over Max's trembling chest. As if synchronized, Max continued masturbating, eager for a release till his climax neared. His toes curled, and after one final cry he shot a thick load of his seed onto his abs, mixing in Justin's semen and his own beads of salty perspiration into a briny concoction.

It had taken a few moments for Max to descend from his high. A silence had set in, and Justin plopped down beside him.

The two laid on the bed, side by side. The room was only illuminated by the light of the hallway and the green digits of the alarm clock on the bed side table.

Max glanced at his brother to the right of him, laying there in naked tranquility with his member flaccid, his muscles glistening, and eyes closed.

"You asleep?"

Justin yawned, turning his head towards Max with eyes still shut. "No."

Max shifted his body to face him, peeking his head closer to his face.

"How was it?"

Justin smiled, then stretched his arms. "Nice."

"Nice? I let you tear up my asshole for your sake and all I get is _nice? _Please, Justin. That was pretty sexy."

He watched his brother's mouth twitch into a grin. "Mmm..." he hummed, lifting his feet and pulling the satin sheet out from under his body, then over him.

"You're going to bed this early? It's only..." Max paused to glance at the alarm clock. "It's only 9:40. You don't even sleep this early on school nights."

Justin sighed and opened his eyes. Max hovered right above him, breathing heavily on his face. With his hand raised weakly, Justin caressed the side of Max's cheek affectionately, his eyes fixed on Max's moving lips. It was strange gesture, Max thought, but he wasn't going to stop him.

"Yeah...I'm pretty tired." Justin said before yawning once again. The tip of his finger followed Max's jawline and softly rubbed behind his ear before dropping back to the mattress.

Max watched his brother's sleepy face. "You're not gonna storm off again like you did yesterday, are you?"

Justin's smile dissipated, followed by another yawn. "Good night, Max." It was the last thing he uttered before turning his body over in the bed and falling abandoned in the stillness of the bedroom, Max nestled his head on the pillow and slipped under the covers. _Butt-naked in bed with my brother_, he thought to himself, a smile creeping to his lips.

A water heater groaned to life down the hallway. A sudden clap of thunder jolted the walls. A flash of lightning penetrated the obscurity of the room with the purest of white light.

Groggy and eye-lids hanging heavy, Max surrendered gladly - plummeting into a void of sleep to the gentle patter of rain on the window.

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed this chapter!** Chapter 5 will be up** **Friday, May 10th!** And** Chapter 6 will be up on Sunday, May 12th as usual.**

And as always, please review! :)


	5. Chapter 5

The radiance of a crisp Saturday morning filled the bedroom as Max stirred, slipping into consciousness with moist eyes and senses jolting. He blinked to clear the glassy fuzziness, and lifted the weight of his head to gather his surroundings.

He had not realized it, but his cheek had been resting on his brother's bare torso throughout his dreamless slumber. One of his arms lay rest on Justin's chest, the other grasping for the coolness of a pillow that had not been used.

The satin sheets felt damp with sweat, clinging to Max's body when he stretched his legs. Max shifted under the weight of Justin's heavy arm resting firmly on his back, yawned, and propped himself up on the mattress to get a better view.

A splash of light from the window illuminated Justin's body. He slept with the grace and allure of an angel: his expression placid, his sinewy chest rising and falling with every elongated, deep breath. His free arm was stretched above his head, the thin tufts of arm pit hair growing in soft brown swirls. The sheen of sweat coating his skin caught the sunlight streaming in from the window, giving him the look of a polished marble statue.

It had taken a while for Max to recall why exactly he awoke naked in his parent's bed beside his nude brother, and when his wandering eyes caught sight of Justin's morning wood forming a tent in the sheet, the memories of the day before came flooding back to him:

His shift at the sub shop. Calling the Wizard Potion Association. Washing dishes. The taste of Justin's lips...

Friday night revealed itself in greater clarity, yet it seemed so distant still. A hallucination, perhaps - though he knew deep down that it was all too real.

Max luxuriated in the first silent moments of awakening before craning his body to glance at the alarm clock on the bedside table. _7:53 am_. He didn't even wake up this early when he had school.

The body beneath his arms stirred, and a purring groan emanated from beneath the sheet before Justin's eyes opened halfway. Max smiled and leaned in to kiss him on the lips - an innocent 'good morning' smooch. At the first attempt to slip his tongue into his brother's mouth, Justin recoiled in disgust.

"Ugh!" he said, moving his arm off Max's back and wiping his lips furiously, before his look of abhorrence broke into a smile.

"That tasted awful..." Justin said, his face contorting. Max grinned, resting his chin above Justin's left nipple. "What did you eat last night...a dead rat? Christ, Max, you stink."

"I ate...nothing, actually," Max replied, then yawned. "Where could I find the time to eat when all we did last night was fuck?"

A flicker of confusion materialized across Justin's face before a look of realization set in. He sighed, shielding his eyes from the stream of morning light with his forearm and exhaled. "Oh yeah..."

Max rested his cheek on the warmth of Justin's chest and let his finger trace the contours of his abs. "Yeah...you must have plowed through my ass with a rolling pin...I don't think I'll ever walk again..."

Justin shifted in the bed and sighed once more. Max knew very well that he made his brother uncomfortable whenever he spoke so bluntly, but he wasn't going to spare him this morning. He smiled crookedly.

"You jizzed on me and its all dried up. Do you think its permanent?"

Justin groaned, glancing briefly at Max and then back at the ceiling. "No."

"Like a jizz tattoo."

"Uh-huh..." Justin said, his eyes closed.

"It's all caught in the little hairs near my nipple line and they look like... raccoons."

"Raccoons?"

"Yeah...those things caterpillars pop out of when they turn into butterflies...or whatever."

"Cocoons, Max. They're called cocoons."

"Yeah, those too."

Justin hissed under his breath and readjusted himself beneath the sheets, throwing Max's head into turbulence before settling down once again. The air in the room was dense.

"Go back to sleep," Justin said, abrupt and breathy.

Max did not need to await Justin's instruction to retreat to his slumber. He had already drifted back into unconsciousness, and as nonchalantly as he had woken up, so too did he slither into another whirl of sleep.

* * *

Max awoke again to find himself spread-eagled on the mattress, clutching at emptiness.

Justin was gone.

Flipping the muggy sheet to his side and exposing the bareness of his body, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. Max glanced at the alarm clock. _11:38 am_.

A blue paisley curtain billowed with the gentle breeze from the opened window. Max swung his feet over the edge of the bed and onto the cold hardwood floor, his eyes scanning the unkempt room.

The ground was littered with the remnants of a heated Friday night: two pairs of jeans, a lone sock hanging delicately on the door knob, two belts mangled like a pair of snakes, perpetually frozen in mid-brawl.

Max stood up, stretched, and stepped over the piles of clothes and ambled to the bathroom. _Nothing a gargle of ice-cold tap water can't cure_.

The sounds of clanking dishes and shuffling feet emerged from the kitchen below.

* * *

"Up so early?"

Max stepped swiftly down the winding metal staircase and sauntered towards the kitchen island, in a fading t-shirt and pair of sweatpants. He seated himself on a stool, in view of Justin - who had cracked an egg into a pan of hot oil and lingered as it sizzled and popped.

"Yeah," Max said, savoring the smells of omelette and toast.

"It's a miracle. You're actually up before 2 pm...on a _Saturday_...and it's not even Christmas."

Justin wiped his hands thoroughly on a rag by the sink and sidestepped to the refrigerator. He opened the freezer, pulling out an unopened package of bacon and pinched the edges of the plastic. Like clockwork, he pulled out three pink and white frozen strips, placed them into another pan, tossed the package back into the open freezer, and returned to his cutting board. He sliced an orange on the island with precision, pausing to season the egg with a masterful pinch of salt and pepper. Max studied his brother at work, admiring his suave demeanor.

"Y'know...This would be a lot hotter if you had no clothes on," Max said, catching Justin off guard.

Justin's knife paused its movement. He wiped off his hand on his plaid shirt and looked up at Max with a grave expression, then resumed his slicing.

"I'm just sayin..."

"Yeah, well you'd be a lot more productive if you didn't mismanage your time."

Max reached across to cutting board and snagged a slice of orange and munched. He grimaced at the foul combination of citrus and minty toothpaste.

"I don't know what any of that meant," he said, taking another cautious bite. "Why can't you just take a compliment?"

"It didn't really sound like one to me."

"I was sorta trying you say you looked good naked...that's all...take that how you want..."

Justin didn't look up. Max reached for another slice of orange.

"Do you think I look good without clothes on?" Max asked, eyeing his brother.

"I guess..." Justin said, his voice quavering.

"You sound so unsure about it though...I don't know whether I should believe you..."

Justin didn't speak a word.

"Do you think I'm sexy?" Max asked bluntly.

Justin chuckled, then straightened out.

"That wasn't supposed to be funny, Justin. I just want a flat out answer."

"No, Max," Justin said with his palms pressed on the island surface. "We're brothers. That's disgusting. You can't make me answer that question."

"Fine. But you did mention a couple of times last night that my ass was..._quote unquote_...the most perfect thing you've ever seen...so I'll take that as a yes."

He saw Justin blush, and accelerate his slicing in response.

"Careful, bro. Easy on the knife movements."

"I don't remember saying that," Justin stated coldly, his eyes avoiding all contact with Max. The two lingered in awkward silence until Justin spoke again.

"What do you usually eat in the mornings? Do you want an omelette or what?" Justin asked.

"I dunno. Eggs kinda freak me out. I stick to plain toast and pickles."

"Pickles?"

"Yes, Justin," Max said in a feigned British accent. "Pickles and toast and a cup'a tea for me, my love."

* * *

Breakfast had been eaten, after which the two took a seat on the orange couch. The temperature had risen from the crispness of morning to a thick and uncomfortable heat by noon; the air conditioner did not suffice, so the terrace door was left slightly ajar.

Max took the plastic wrapped remote control in hand and flipped through the channels, though he knew very well that Saturday afternoon did not make for captivating television. He settled on a Spanish soap opera and tossed the remote to his side, yet he could not distinguish a single familiar word in the thick of rolling r's.

"What's that woman crying about?" he asked, glancing at his brother.

"I dunno..." Justin replied, "I think she's trying to tell Alfonso not to leave..."

"Who's Alfonso? Is it the guy with the mustache or the one with the creepy eyebrow?"

"The mustache."

"Oh...where is he going?"

Justin groaned. "Do we really need to be watching this right now? Isn't there something else on?"

"_Porque, mamacita?...Porque?!_"

Max grinned and handed the remote to his brother, who rolled his eyes and changed the channel to a documentary. An old bearded man in a dusty beige bucket hat and faded checkered shirt crouched on a beach and held a fistful of dark sand.

"What is this supposed to be about?"

With eyes fixed on the screen, Justin replied. "He's in Hawaii, I think. By the looks of this, he's analyzing black sand. It forms when hot lava interacts with sea water."

"I saw black sand in the toaster this one time."

"Those are burnt crumbs, Max."

"Oh. So what's with all those volcanoes then?"

"_Shh_. I'm trying to listen."

Max didn't even bother continuing his blitzkrieg of questions. The visual switched to a woman in a blinding white lab coat analyzing a piece of jagged rock under a microscope.

Max knew he was in for a long afternoon. He yawned and rested his head on the arm of the couch, lifting his feet off the floor and stretching them across so that they were laying on Justin's lap.

"Gimme a foot rub," Max said, attempting to sound as whiny as possible.

"No."

"Please?"

"_No_."

"What if I asked nicely?"

"No! I said I'm watching this."

"I'm sure you can do both at the same time."

"I'm not touching your feet, Max. Leave me alone."

"I'll give you one too."

The documentary had switched to a cold water laundry detergent commercial, and Justin peeked at Max from the corner of his eye. He sighed, and grabbed Max's ankles with one hand and lifted his feet onto the couch, placing his legs in between Max's.

Two large, pale feet rested on Max's chest, and he seized both with his hands and gingerly rubbed the soles in circles with his thumbs. He felt a soft and hesitant finger graze his heel and hastily move its way up along the side of his feet.

"C'mon, Justin. You call that a foot rub? Probably the most half-assed foot rub I've ever gotten."

Max increased his hold on the feet and brought them closer to his face.

"I dare you to lick this," Max said, nodding his head towards his brother and wiggling his big toe.

"Not gonna happen," Justin said, smirking.

"Fine."

In an unanticipated move, Max boldly grabbed onto Justin's right big toe and licked its perspiring tip, then shoved it past his lips and into his mouth. Justin's body jerked forward, and he eyed Max with confusion.

"What the hell Max?!"

"Just enjoy it," Max said slyly, batting his lashes with the toe still on his tongue. Justin whimpered and continued rubbing circles daintily on Max's feet.

A key rattled in the front door lock. Startled, Justin pried his toe loose from Max's mouth and swung his legs over the side of the couch. Max followed suit, though at a more relaxed pace.

"I think its Alex!" Justin said in an urgent whisper.

"So?"

"What would she think if she saw you sucking on my foot? Quick! Act natural!"

The front door swung open, and in stumbled Alex, brazen and clearly hungover. Without speaking a word, she chucked her purse to the dining table - missed by several feet - and plopped onto the couch beside Justin and Max. The two stared uneasily, waiting for her to open her mouth, but were surprised to find that the usual snappy remark was replaced with in inaudible murmur. Alex mumbled something under her breath and groaned, rubbing her temples - her eyes scrunched tight.

"Things got wild at Nellie's last night...In case you wanted to know..."

"How much did you drink?" Max asked eagerly. It was as though his sister had become a celebrity whenever she staggered home in the morning after a binge of alcohol. Like Angelina Jolie, though a lot shorter and a little more drunk.

Alex giggled, paused with a pained expression, then giggled some more. "We did like, fifty shots of Grey Goose in the span of like...three minutes...Oh God..." she said, unable to contain her chuckles. "You should'a seen Harper. She was hurling puke, like, all over the place...I swear I saw some on the ceiling..."

"Sounds like you had a night of wholesome fun," Justin said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yeah? Well at least I wasn't sitting at home watching some old guys roll around in dirt," she said, pointing to the screen. The bucket-hat man was back, this time lying in the black sand and taking a sample of it in a tiny glass vial.

Max laughed, stopping abruptly when Justin shot him an irritated glance.

"I think you've had enough science for one afternoon," Alex said, swiftly snatching the TV remote and changing the channel: a program dedicated to a woman's crazy obsession with eating sidewalk chalk.

"Some people are just so messed up."

* * *

The afternoon drew on, and by 3 o'clock Max was convinced his day couldn't get any more boring.

Alex munched on a bag of chips noisily at the dinner table. Justin had moved on to another documentary on Anglo-Saxon England, while Max moped around in the din of the living room.

A knock on the door was heard close to the evening, and in came Jerry and Theresa with suitcases in tow. The restaurant convention in Connecticut, along with an unofficial date in the park, had been postponed indefinitely due to the inclement weather; they had been left no other choice but to return back home. Much to Alex's dismay, Theresa was intent on finishing what she had packed in her picnic basket. Jerry proposed an outing to Central Park, though it was quietly understood by the others to be a money-saving scheme. It had surely been a while since they had eaten out, but considering Mr. Russo was firm in his decision to preserve the extra $50 in his wallet for gas, they all complied. The Russo's filed into the cramped family jalopy and drove, in silence, through the bustling city streets of Midtown.

They had reached The Lake and claimed a grassy spot in Sheep Meadow, where the picnic cloth was laid down under the merciless evening sun. The five of them settled down, each reaching for a day-old egg sandwich wrapped in cool plastic and devoured them hungrily.

The sky had brightened to a light shade of blue by six o'clock, and things had largely simmered down.

Alex rested on the grass to ease her hangover. Theresa sat cross-legged, reading a drug-store romance novel through large sunglasses while in the distance, Jerry napped in the cool shade of an American elm. The sounds of laughter, squealing children, the rustle of the trees - all suspended in humid air. On the fringes of the cloth, Max sat, facing his brother and the Essex House on the horizon.

"You as bored as I am?" Max asked, squinting against the sunlight.

Justin plucked a blade of grass, rubbing off its green between his index finger and thumb. "Yeah...This isn't as fun as I thought it would be..."

The prickly sting of July heat flooded his sweating back.

"When has Central Park ever been fun?" Max said with boredom evident in his voice. "And its like, three billion degrees out here...Dude...I actually think my skin is melting."

Two children dashed past them, the older one guiding a purple kite along the currents of hot wind and the other trailing behind. _Brothers, perhaps._

"Wanna go for a quick walk?" Max said.

"Yeah...I mean...it's not like we have anything better to do."

After asking Theresa, the two stood up and ambled past picnickers, sunbathers, and kite flyers through the clearing and entered the comfortable shade of the trees. They crossed Terrace drive, sauntering to the water's edge and onto the seemingly ancient cast iron of Bow Bridge. The two had a stunning view of the Lake, Wagner Cove - the peaks of Upper West Side in the distance. A boat passed below them lazily on the water, two oars piercing into obscurity and resurfacing, then back again.

They leaned over the railing synchronously, inhaling the sweetness of magnolia. Max pressed his palms on the stone of the railing.

"Beautiful view," Justin said, his eyes following the row boat as it veered towards the Hernshead.

"You never answered my question from before."

"What question?" Justin asked, oblivious.

"This morning. When I asked you if you thought I was sexy."

"Right..."

"Well? Do you?"

Justin sighed, tapping his fingers like he did when he was placed in the spotlight. "Why are you so keen on getting an answer out of me?"

"I dunno..." Max said, "Just curious."

"This potion is only going to last a couple more days...and then everything's back to normal...so you can't be asking me things like this once all of this is through."

"You sound happy that this thing we've got isn't going to last much longer."

Justin shifted his weight, peering over his shoulder as a woman sauntered past with a Bichon Frise on a bright red leash. "I wouldn't say happy...necessarily...maybe relieved."

"Relieved?"

"It just means I'm less anxious-"

"I know what relieved means, Justin. I'm not that dumb."

"Really? Because it doesn't always seem that way."

"Are you turning this into a fight?"

"No. I'm just stating the facts. And the fact is that you haven't exactly been the smartest person these past couple of days."

"What, so I drink a love potion and now I'm dumb?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"It sure seems like you like me," Max said, looking straight into Justin's eyes.

"Like you? Like, _like _like you? Ha!" Justin said, smirking. "No."

"So you're trying to tell me that everything last night was all an act?"

Justin's lips drew in a thin line. "An act? Well if you put me under your spell then how else do you expect me to behave?"

"Whatever, Justin. You just can't admit that you have feelings for me."

Justin scoffed. "Feelings? For you? Never."

"Why? Is it because of my breath this morning?"

"No, it's because you're my brother. That's just sick."

"Last time I checked, brothers don't do anal in their parents bedroom."

Justin's eyes widened, placing his index finger deftly on Max's lips and shushed him. "_Max!_ We're in public!"

"Oh, so now you're embarrassed by me?"

"NO...No...Well...yes...just don't draw so much attention this way."

"So you can't be a man and face your feelings and you just expect me to be silent like one of your little hamsters and do whatever you tell me to?"

Before he received a reply, Max lifted his weight onto the railing and sat, watching as the color drew from Justin's face. "How's this for attention," Max said, waving his arms precariously in the air. "Look...no hands!"

"Max...get _down_...you can stop your little charade now."

"Who said we were playing charades?"

In one swift motion, Max swung his feet over onto the concrete guard rail and quivered as he stood up, balancing on the edge of the bridge. Like a high-wire performer, he held his arms out for balance, taking calculated breaths as he straightened out his body and towered over his petrified brother.

"MAX! GET DOWN!" Justin cried, waving his arms frantically. "THIS ISN'T FUNNY!"

Justin's frenzied pleading faded into the background.

From Max's vantage point he could only hear the twittering of birds, the steady whoosh of a summer breeze through the willows.

A piece of heaven in a raucous concrete jungle.

Max took an innocent step back to fully appreciate the panorama when he faltered. His foot slipped off the edge of concrete. He yelped, closing his eyes as tight as he could, and plummeted backwards.

His body was weightless for a split second, tumbling for what felt like an eternity - stomach churning, legs twisting - gasping for air.

Max plunged into murky blackness, Justin's shouts now a submerged whisper.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry this chapter took me so long to post. This week has been _so _stressful for me, and I'm just glad its over. All places mentioned in this chapter are _real _places, so you can look them up to get a better visualization.

**Chapter 6** will be hot, hot_, hot, _so you won't want to miss it! I'm going to say it'll be up on **Saturday, May 18.** As always, please review and let me know what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

All that could be heard, beneath the cloudy depths, were the menacing cries of a thousand bubbles speeding past Max's ears. His eyes opened in slow motion, and through the green darkness of the water he could make out the outlines of smooth rocks, glinting like gems in the water-logged sunlight.

Everything was a frenzied blur.

A peace overcame him in the precious few moments he was submerged in subaqeous cold. The heat of summer had disappeared, and he floated, reveling in the refreshing bite of the water - that is, until two burly arms yanked him out of the dimness and into the dreaded July air. He surfaced, anchoring his feet onto the rocky surface and blinked his wild and wet eyes. His clothes were dead weights. Max wiped away a tuft of drenched hair from his face and squinted to clear the fuzziness. Someone was standing in front of him - drenched, bare-chested, and shivering.

It was Justin: holding him firmly by the shoulders, his face close to his, mouth moving but no sound emanating from his lips.

The sight before him gradually manifested itself in greater clarity, and as the last drips of water cleared from his ears, he heard the rising crescendo of his brother's voice.

"Max! Are you _okay_?!" Justin repeated with a raspy throat, shaking his brother violently to coax an answer out of him.

Max flinched at the volume of his brother's voice. "Dude! Not so loud! And you really don't need to be yelling in my face-"

"Yelling?!"

"Yes! Like that! In my face!" Max exclaimed, pointing at both his ears. "I think I'm going deaf!"

"I don't need to be _yelling_?! You jump off a bridge and you expect me not to yell?!"

The frustration boiled in Justin's face, and Max ate it all up. It was a treat to watch him overreact, to see the air swell up in that big old head of his until all of his veins were ruptured.

"I didn't jump, Justin, I tripped."

"Tripped?! You didn't need to climb on the railing in the first place!"

"Relax!" Max said, grinning. "I know how to swim. And this water isn't even that deep. Geeze..."

He watched as Justin looked away glumly at the water, still grasping him by the shoulders - though his grip had loosened considerably.

"Were you worried?"

Justin glared at Max, then swiftly feigned a chuckle. "Who? Me? Worried? Ha...No...I just...didn't wanna have to do extra shifts at the sub shop. If you died I'm sure Dad would make me work twelve hour shifts."

As convincing as it sounded, Max saw right through Justin's affront. It was clear he had been worried. _Why else would he have jumped off the bridge to save me?_

_"_Alright...alright..." Max said, smirking. "Where'd your shirt go? Did that like melt away in the water or something?"

Justin glanced at his dewy upper body as if he hadn't realized it himself and smiled. "It was a new shirt. I didn't wanna ruin it...you know...getting all soiled in this dirty water...I think we just might contract something if we don't get out..."

An awkward silence followed, and in those fateful moments Max wrapped his arms around Justin's waist and pulled himself closer to the warmth of his body. _A gesture of thanks_, perhaps. He was pressed against his brawny torso, safe in his arms - all while standing in the Central Park Lake. _What a strange way to end my Saturday..._

Max looked up into Justin's gray-green eyes, crowned by eyelashes matted with dew. As if in a trance, he closed his eyes as delicately as he could manage, pulling himself closer in the embrace, leaning in to kiss his lips...

"Ay dios mío!MY _BABIES_!"

Max was abruptly shoved backwards into the water at the sound of his mother's shrill voice, resonating from the bridge above. The two stared blankly upwards to find Jerry, a laughing Alex, and a petrified Theresa looking back down at them over the railing.

"Hi Mom..." the boys said, in a tone sounding both startled and cold.

"Maximilian Alanzo Ernesto Russo you have exactly ten seconds to tell me why you pushed your brother into the water," Theresa said in one long breath.

"But I didn't push Justin! I just-"

"Don't make me come down there Max!"

Max sighed, ready to face a punishment he didn't deserve when Justin intervened.

"No, Mom. It wasn't his fault. We were fooling around and..." Justin glanced at Max, then back up at his parents. "We were sitting on the edge of the bridge and we both fell in."

Justin's open acceptance of his blame caught Max by surprise. However, it always seemed that whenever Justin confessed to something, he managed evade the brunt of his parent's anger and somehow translate it to parental act was perhaps not as heroic as it initially seemed.

"You see, Jerry? This wouldn't have happened if we had gone to Emperor Tang's Chinese Buffet like I asked. But _no_, we had to save a couple of dollars and come to Central Park instead."

"I thought you liked Central Park!" Jerry exclaimed, his attention now focused on his wife, arms on her hips.

"Yes, Jerry. I liked it the first time. But now I _hate_ it. There!" she said, holding her arms up in surrender, "I cursed this park and I don't care!"

The Russo boys waded to the water's edge to the sound of their bantering parents - sopping clothes making each step a hassle. They reached dry ground at last, and Max looked over to his brother.

"Why didn't you tell Mom it was my fault? You usually rat me out. Are you feeling okay?"

He had expected a terse reply from his brother. Instead, after a mumbled "Don't mention it" and a hurried pat on the shoulder, Justin traipsed silently through the overgrowth of trees by the lake and onward into the clearing.

* * *

With hems of jeans caked in mud and t-shirts steeped in miry lake water, the Russo boys were forced to dry off in the bathroom by their exasperatedmother. In fact, Theresa waited patiently at the doorway of the men's door, with arms crossed and foot tapping - certainly catching the attention of passerby's. Once deemed dry enough, the Russo boys filed into the family car along with the other three and headed back down 6th Avenue.

By the time they had reached home, the glow of evening had long vanished, and it was now night. The day itself had proved to be unseasonably warm, though with the mildness of sunset came the long-awaited cure to the thick summer heat. The car ride back home was hushed, save for Jerry's tirade about the rising price of gas and Max's verbally expressed doubts regarding the difference between 'gasoline' and 'Vaseline'.

Theresa rattled the key in the lock impatiently and opened the door, turning on the lights on her way in to the loft and setting her purse daintily on the couch. Max had broken free from behind her and was intent on easing his nerves on the couch, though he was halted before he could sit down.

"Nuh-uh!" Theresa said, her face stern and her hands motioning for Max to back away from the couch if he knew what was good for him. "That park water is _dirty, _honey. People _pee_ in there. I better hear you having a nice hot shower before you even think about dinner. With _soap_, please and thank-you."

Max sighed, moping towards the staircase when his mother spoke again.

"You too, Justin. I can smell rotten fish and I think it's coming from your hair."

He smiled as he heard his brother's footsteps trail behind him. To shower was punishment enough, though knowing Justin would have to endure the same would make the experience slightly less agonizing.

"Alex," Theresa said, amidst the sounds of a closing cupboard door and the clatter of ceramic against metal. "You're helping me with lasagna tonight."

"Lasagna? _Again?_" he heard Alex say in the distance as he reached the top of the staircase. "I think I'm getting allergic. _Blech_."

* * *

The familiar smells of old gym socks and expired deodorant hit Max like a boxing glove when he opened the door to his room. As much as the stench warded off the others in the household, he treasured the only few square feet he could call his own. The room itself wasn't too large, though big enough to fit Max's bunk bed. The floor was covered ankle-deep in old laundry, flunked report cards, candy wrappers - the like. His bike stood propped precariously on the edge of his dresser, its front wheel adorned with a pair of pinstriped boxers. What was unkempt and revolting to his family was a refuge to him.

Max stepped over his decrepit school bag, a broken lava lamp, and a shredded BMX poster to the only pile of 'adequately clean' clothing he had in his room. After a quick whiff of a pair of sweatpants and a ripped t-shirt with a hole right at the bellybutton, he grabbed a towel and was on his way out the door.

He had reached the largest bathroom in the house at the end of the hallway, only to find its door slightly ajar and the soft yellow light seeping through the crack. With a haphazard hand, he pushed the door open and heard a 'thud' as it recoiled back towards him - a muffled groan emanating from behind. He backed away, afraid that he had injured the unfortunate soul who happened to be inside when Justin peeked his head timidly through the threshold. He was clearly startled. From the briefest glimpse he could catch, Max understood that Justin was fully naked, though clutching a sock against his crotch in one final attempt to maintain his dignity.

"Can't you knock next time?!" Justin said, blushing at his exposure.

"Dude, I've seen you naked before. You've got nothing to hide."

"What do you want?" Justin interjected, expression blank and eyeing Max suspiciously.

"Nothing, bro, just thought I'd take a shower. Looks like you've got here before me..."

"Mhm...what's your point?"

"No point. Just about to ask you if I could go first-"

"Use the one downstairs. I'm kinda busy."

"That one has spiders, though...You know how much I hate spiders who watch me when I shower..." Max sighed, pushing the door slightly open and trying to gain access. "C'mon, we could even shower together. I'm down for it."

Justin smirked. His fingers were curled around the edge of the door, and his knuckles whitened with each of Max's advances. "Not gonna happen, Max. You can wait twenty-"

"Please?" Max asked, lips drooping like a sad puppy. "We'll save time _and _water...you know...for like the environment and green peace or whatever. See, I'm always thinking ahead."

He could sense the sarcasticremark burgeoning in his brother's lips, but was surprised at its absence. "What if someone sees us?" Justin said instead, glancing around the hallway as if he were about to cross a street. "And what am I supposed to say if someone comes looking for you?"

"I dunno...just tell them I've gone for a walk or something...Look...Relax, Justin. I've got this all under control!"

"Now where have I heard that before?" Justin said, contempt thick on his tongue.

_Ah - there it is_. _It isn't a normal conversation without one of Justin's snappy replies._

"Oh stop worrying and just let me in already! Do you really think anything is going to happen within the fifteen minutes we're in here? Honestly..._Psht_...We'll be fine."

"I don't know about this Max..." Justin said, though it was clear he was slowly granting Max access to the bathroom.

"Just get in and close the damn door! Gosh, Justin...could you be any _slower_?"

Max pushed his way in and shut the bathroom door behind him. Tossing his change of clothes by the sink and nearly missing, Max stripped down naked in a few swift moves. After pulling his damp boxers off of his ankles, he looked up at his brother: Justin stood in front of him, cowering as if he had something to hide. His shaking hands were shielding his crotch with the same white cotton sock.

"_Really_, Justin?" Max said with a devilish grin, removing his socks and relishing his nudity in the mirror. "I've seen you naked like what, two times now? And that's not counting all the times I've run into you in the bathroom."

"I know, I know...but it's still..." Justin paused, gulping a lump in his throat, "...weird..."

"Besides," Max said, moving away Justin's hands from his crotch and running the tip of his finger softly down Justin's semi-erect member. "I think I've gotten to know your cock more than I've gotten to know you. We're practically buddies, you and I," he said, nodding his head towards his brother's manhood. "I'll call you Dixie-"

"None of this, Max," Justin said, backing away from his brother's touch and rolling his eyes. "We're only in here to shower." He pushed back the plastic shower curtain with one hand, dropped his sock out of the other, and took two calculated steps into the tub. Max followed close behind and closed the curtain, wincing at the coldness of the white ceramic against his bare feet.

The water was turned on, and a warm cascade of water spurted forth from the shower head and onto the Russo boys. They stood, bare and face to face, and while Max tried his best to meet eyes with his brother it was to no avail. Justin was far too preoccupied in rubbing away the day's grime off of his muscly body with the precise touch of his finger tips. He ran his hand along the contours of muscle with both ease and agility, letting the water form a pool in the crevasse between his hand and his glistening torso.

Max had not immediately realized, but an erection sprouted sometime during his staring match with Justin's abs. It was evident that the rigid flesh had caught the other's attention. Justin's lusting eyes were fixed on Max's engorged member, water rushing down its shaft. He followed the trail up to Max's chest before snapping out of his trance.

In hopes to claim his gaze once again, Max took his own hard-on in the palm of his hand and pumped, nearing his brother until its tip grazed Justin's pelvis. At the soft touch of the pink head against hot flesh, Justin recoiled.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Max asked, with dick still in hand.

"Not now, Max. Mom's going to wonder why we're up here so long and she's going to get suspicious..."

"We can finish up real quick-"

"I said _no_, Max. Just finish and we'll get outta here."

With that, Justin turned his back towards Max and faced the tiled wall, allowing the stream of tepid water to massage the nape of his neck. Though temporarily defeated in his never-ending quest to coax his brother into another round of heated sex, his view of Justin's behind was compensation enough. Max struggled to settle on a single segment of Justin's physique to lay his hungry eyes; it was a toss-up between the broadness of his back and the plumpness of his round butt.

A flash of fire raged within him, and he knew he could no longer suppress himself. Max edged himself closer to Justin, intent on making him his. As he approached Justin from behind, the head of his cock arrived before he did - nestling itself neatly in his butt crack. Justin jerked forward, but before he could move away Max wrapped his arms around Justin's waist, letting his hands clasp his burly pecs. The water was hot on his skin.

Justin's attempts to free himself from his brother's embrace transmuted itself to a staggered flow of stifled mumbles, and he gave up trying. Max rested his head against the back of Justin's shoulder - his cock pressed against the softness of his ass.

Max broke the deafening silence in the shower. "How about I-"

"_No_."

"But you didn't even hear what I was going to say-"

"Not happening, bro."

"But I want to know what it feels like, Justin. C'mon," Max said softly against his brother's skin, running circles around his nipples. "Help a brother out."

"I'm not doing it, Max."

"I've already let you destroy my ass-hole. I think its only fair if I get to-"

"No, Max. It doesn't work that way."

"Please?"

"No."

"I'll be gentle."

"_No_."

"How 'bout l make you an offer you can't refuse," he said in his finest Marlon Brando impression - even going so far as to curl his lip.

Justin chuckled, but returned to silence.

"If you let me then...then I'll suck you off. And you can jizz all over my face. Wherever you want. Your choice. I _promise_."

The wait for Justin's response felt like an eternity amidst the jarring stream of water, though he knew he was mulling it over. To Max, the compromise was _far_ from a compromise. The chance to drive it home up Justin's perfect ass and taste his juice thereafter was a win-win situation.

"Fine."

"What?" Max said, caught off guard after his brief flight of fantasy.

"I said I'll do it. But you pull anything strange and I'm leaving."

Max caressed Justin's back in delight, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He released his brother from his stronghold, gently bending in for a sloppy kiss before Justin leaned forward. With hands resting on the tiled wall and back arched so as to ensure Max could enter from the best possible angle, Justin glanced back at his brother with a look of both apprehension and boyish thrill.

"Gentle...okay?"

Max was far too engaged in Justin's protruding bottom to give a thoughtful reply. "Yeah...yeah..." he said in short, hurried breaths.

With both hands squeezing the sides of Justin's butt cheeks, Max carefully squatted on the floor of the tub. He was face to face with his brother's ass, and when he parted the two soft mounds to reveal the entrance, his heart did a pirouette. He had expected it to be as hairless as his brother's chest, but was surprised to find the slightest hint of thin brown swirls. Without delaying, Max slipped his tongue into the crevice.

"Shit...Max..." Justin said after a jolt of his hips, speaking through clenched teeth. Max held him from moving, making sure he lapped up every last drop of salty sweat. For every swirl of his tongue on the tautness of his brother's ass hole, his hard-on stirred - oozing slippery pre-cum out of its tingling tip.

The entrance was slathered to the brim with a thick coating of Max's saliva, the muscles contracting and expanding in helpless arousal.

"I think it's trying to talk to me," Max said, rubbing his index finger in circles on the moistness of the hole. Justin's balls hung freely just a few inches away, and with his free hand Max seized them, running his palm along its perspiring skin.

"What?" Justin said in the middle of a groan.

"Your asshole. It's speaking to me. What's that little guy?" he said, planting his ear against Justin's behind. "Oh? You want to meet my dick? No...that won't be any trouble, don't worry about it! He's real nice."

He heard Justin's frustrated sigh in the distance, and knew he had to step things up. Max plunged his index and middle fingers haphazardly into the beckoning entrance in a 'screwing' motion, turning Justin's echoing moans into a yelp.

"Fuck!" Justin said, shifting his feet on the tub floor. "Careful, Max! Don't scratch up my insides."

"Relax," Max said, two fingers deep into his brother. The hole stiffened and pulsed stubbornly with each thrust inwards, but thanks to Max's nimble fingers, it had loosened up considerably. Unable to wait any longer, he stood up from his crouched position and lined up his throbbing dick with Justin's ass. He held Justin's waist with his left hand and pressed the head past the first ring of muscle.

"Fuck, Justin," Max said, Justin's powerless ass in his unyielding grip. "It's tight as a...as a...I can't think of anything right now but it's pretty _damn _tight, bro..."

Once settling himself into a comfortable position behind his brother, Max pushed his dick past the second ring until it was completely enveloped in flesh - eliciting stifled groans from the receiving end. He paused for a moment, savoring the power he now held - the power to rip Justin's asshole to shreds for the sake of his own pleasure. The thought was both intimidating and exceedingly provoking. With no time to lose, Max thrust his hard-on with a burst of vigor into Justin's ass, sending the Russo boys into a bout of grunts and wails.

The muscles in Justin's arms flexed against the wall with each of the rough shoves into his behind. Panting and cursing under his breath, Max picked up speed and threw his head back in pleasure. The sound of wet thighs thundering against a bottom echoed through the bathroom.

Somewhere in the middle of Max's impatient thrusts and Justin's incessant moans, the bathroom door flung open.

Frozen mid-thrust with his cock still planted firmly in his brother's ass, Max held his breath.

A pair of feet shuffled on the floor, and the tap turned on. The cabinet was opened and a bottle was set on the counter by the sink.

"Who's there?" Justin asked, his voice trembling.

The tap turned off.

"It's just me, Justin," the voice said, sounding distant.

Justin whipped his head back and glared at Max, his lips silently mouthing the word 'dad'. All color had been drained from his face. He tried to free himself from the two hands holding his waist, but Max held him tenaciously in place.

"I hope you don't mind. Just thought I'd shave before dinner...Your mother refuses to let me eat unless I get rid of this stubble."

* * *

**A/N**: Hope you liked this chapter! **Chapter 7** will be up next weekend, though I'm not going to say a particular date (I've realized I cannot meet my own deadlines...). Review and let me know what you think about the story! If you fear things are going a little slow, I promise that the plot will thicken in a few chapters.


	7. Chapter 7

Max's heart performed entrechats in the confines of his heaving chest - but the devilish grin persisted on his face.

His trembling cock was plunged neck-deep into the fleshy depths of his brother's ass. He stood, frozen in mid-heat, the sounds of blood pulsing through his ears drowned by the cascading water. The air was wrought with the minty scents of soap and shampoo, intermingling with nervous teenage sweat.

Justin had solidified to stone, leaned over with the top of his head pressing against the wet tile. Their father was just a meter away beyond the vinyl shroud, battling coarse hairs on his chin with a blunt razor. Time was petrified, at least until Jerry's brusque coughing hurled Max out of his tranceand back into startling reality.

At the faint sound of shaving gel foaming through the nozzle, Justin glanced back with terror clouding his eyes - mouthing something Max could barely hear.

"Pull...out..." Justin whispered with clenched teeth, his eyes darting between the base of Max's engorged manhood and the sloshing water between his toes.

Max shook his head, unable to hear his brother's voice over the blaring shower. "What?" he mouthed back, readjusting his footing.

"I said...pull..._out_" Justin said, this time a little louder.

"I still can't hear you," Max whispered back in an attempt to be as discreet as possible. It clearly wasn't working.

Justin's eyes widened with rage and frustration, and with his hand placed deftly on Max's abs, he tried to push him away. Max didn't budge. "Pull out!"

Realizing their whispers would be too obvious, they communicated further with a series of nods and flicks of the eyes.

_"Max! You've gotta get outta of me before Dad finds us here...Oh...God...What if he...No..."_

Justin's gaze fell to the shower floor and his face looked pained.

_"Don't worry 'bout it!" _Max signaled with a flick of his wrist and a gentle rub on the small of Justin's back._ "He's not gonna hear us. The water's too loud. I jack off in here all the time and no one hears me - ever."_

_"Whatever. Just wait till he's gone."_

_"What if that takes an hour? Two hours? What if he wants to join in on our shower?"_

_"No...no...it'll only be a few minutes..."_

_"I'm not waiting."_

Unable to linger around until his dick went flaccid again, Max took in two deep breaths and tightened his grip around Justin's waist. He saw the look of trepidation in his brother's eyes, but knew he wouldn't be able to hold out without throwing one of his sexually-frustrated temper tantrums. His member sprung back to life in the clutches of Justin's tight entrance. Slowly but surely, Max eased his way back into the taut hole, causing the other the falter. The thought of getting it on in the same room as his father did not throw him off one bit.

After mustering up enough energy to supply his hips, Max shoved his cock with the vigor of a heavy-weight champion into the beckoning entrance. Justin stifled his moans with each pleasurable blow to his behind, but to no avail.

"Fuck," Justin said, but realizing the volume of his words was not toned down in time, stopped breathing.

"What was that?"

His father had heard. The quick retort from the other side of the curtain sent Max's agape mouth into a painful grin. Without pausing to listen for a reply, Max continued his thrusts.

"Uh...N-n-n-nothing...Dad...just...putting on some soap..."

"Doesn't sound like your putting on soap to me, son."

Justin was struggling. _This _was something Max would pay to see. Before he could heckle him for it, Jerry swiftly intercepted.

"It's fine, Justin. I was your age once. We're both guys...we all do it sometimes..._no big deal_."

"Do what?" Justin asked incredulously.

Jerry sighed with one long, deep breath, and set his razor down with a 'clink' on the counter. "What do you think I'm talking about Justin? C'mon, I thought we had this talk a while ago."

"Uh...No, Dad...I-"

"Don't sweat it, Justin. It's my fault for interrupting your 'me' time. I should've known...You seemed so grumpy this whole day."

"'Me' time?!"

"Yeah son...hugging the hog...humping the hose...milking the moose...polishing the sword-"

"DAD!"

"What? We're men, son, that's what we _do_. Shaking the sausage...squeezing the cheese...smacking the salami..."

"OKAY! Dad! I get it!"

"...fondling your flagpole..."

"_DAD!_"

"Okay! Okay!" Jerry said. It was clear he was smiling from ear to ear. "I came up with that one myself. You know what, I am just glad you're dealing with your urges like a responsible adult and not running around knocking up the girls in the neighborhood. I'm proud of you, son."

It wasn't feasible for Max to continue bucking his hips a midst a bout of uncontrollable giggles. He leaned against his brother's ass in exhaustion, observing Justin's face go from pink to a deep red. The sight was nothing short of entertaining.

"Do you have some waterproof magazines in there I don't know about?"

"What?! Dad! No!"

"Right...you kids nowadays have the internet. When I was your age...and we're talking _years _before we had computers and cell phones and all of that...I used to snag a couple of dollars from your Grandpa's wallet and run down to the corner store and grab a couple of magazines," Jerry said, chuckling warmly at the bygone days of his youth. "Sometimes me and my friends would save up to buy a videocassette. Or we'd sneak in to one of the strip clubs along 12th Avenue after school if we had the cash. Those were the days, son. You're really missing out with all the technology you've got now..."

While Jerry continued his nostalgic lecture, Max neared his edge in a hasty burst to the finish - juices welling up in the tip of his meat. Max released his cock from the grips of the aching hole and grasped his pulsing shaft as it spewed rope after rope of warm, white cum all over Justin's soft ass. He eased his eyes open and took three short steps backward after descending from his high to marvel at his masterpiece. It was a work of art: the round, flexed muscles of Justin's butt were coated in a thick layer of his seed.

Justin glanced back at Max with a weary look and the slightest hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. He was clearly out of breath, but endured the rest of his father's speech.

"...and the door just flew open and there I was, naked in my parent's living room with nothing but a tissue box in my right hand and a bottle of baby oil in my left...and the cute blond next door neighbor who was supposed to drop off our groceries just took one long look at the tape I was watching and then back at me. She said my name a couple of times...but I couldn't control myself any longer and I just exploded all over-"

"_DAD!_" Justin said, the word escaping weakly from his lips.

"...it flew all over the rug and the TV antenna and the Betamax and I'm standing there with my hands up in the air crying-"

"DAD!"

"...and she walks up to me and puts her hand on my chest and toys with a couple of the hairs and gives me a wink-"

"DAD! _Enough!_ Please...I get it...I really do..."

"_Okay_ son. If you wanted me to leave you could've just said so...Well...just don't tell your mother we had this conversation. She doesn't know about the Courtney incident."

"The what?"

"You know, my first time? I was just telling you about it? Look, I can start again if you want...So Courtney was my next door neighbor when I was sixteen and she was supposed to drop off our groceries every Sunday-"

"OUT, Dad. NO MORE STORIES, _please_."

Jerry snickered as he turned off the tap and placed the razor back into the cabinet.

They heard the footsteps pace to the towel, then sidestep to the garbage can before the door creaked open. A draft entered from the hallway, and Max shivered at iciness of the breeze against his warm skin. Justin exhaled with relief when the door was shut and it was finally just the two of them again.

"That was close," Justin said, standing back upright and wincing at the soreness of his asshole.

"Mhm..." Max mumbled, leaning against the tile to catch his brother's form in full view. "So how'd you like it?"

"It was...alright...I guess..."

Max's brain threw him a curve-ball in the middle of their exchange; it was the sudden and not-so-distant memory of the awkward conversation between his brother and his dad that sent him into howls of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Justin asked, rotating his body under the jet of the shower and easing his head back in relaxation.

"No...nothing...I just didn't realize I was interrupting your 'me' time."

"Very funny..."

"And I'm sure you'll tell me more about the '_Courtney _Incident' over dinner. Maybe as a bedtime story-"

"Ha ha, Max...I hope you didn't forget our little deal, though."

"What deal?"

"Remember? You said if I let you-"

"Right. You didn't think I would forget about it that quickly, did you?"

* * *

**A/N: **Well, it's about time I posted this chapter. I apologize for the short length, but I tried my best to put something together. On a really random note, Jerry just seemed like such a horn-dog to me so I might have over done his "nostalgic lecture" just a tad :)

Chapter 8 will be up...well...I don't know when...but it will be eventually (it could be as short as this one considering my priorities outside of fanfics, but it will surely deliver). Things might be all quaint and dandy on the internet but real life can be such a drag.

EVERYTHING WILL TAKE A DRASTIC TURN IN THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS and the _real _fun begins! Want to know what happens? Well...you'll just have to find out!

As always, please review and let me know what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

There was little Max could do, in the heat of the shower and pressed against a brawny chest, but appease his brother's demands. With the same thrill that threw his teenage hormones into a frenzy and his manhood on a course headed straight up Justin's ass, Max didn't hesitate a second to get on his knees.

Justin's arms laid heavy on his shoulders to guide him down but he shrugged them off. "You don't need to help me, Justin. I've done this before..."

"I know," Justin said, "I'm just making sure you actually do what you told me you would...don't even think about pulling one of your antics." It was obvious Justin's arousal had reached new heights by the way his eyelids drooped and his mouth was perpetually ajar.

Max's mouth thirsted for his brother's seed, and when the knobs of his knees made contact with the warm ceramic of the tub, he grinned a devilish grin. The cock was fully erect, gleaming like it had just been polished with wax, thick and his for the taking. Every breath of Justin's sent pulses through the muscle, moving as if it had a life of its own. It was practically _asking _to be blown.

He decided not to linger this time, seizing the rod with his right palm and doing a few half-executed pumps before engorging its entire length. Max let it sit there, its girth filling his mouth and its head wandering a little too far back. His gag reflex kicked into action and he pulled off immediately.

"Dude! You're dick hit my...what's it called...you know that thing that dangles at the back of your mouth? Kinda looks like a testicle?"

"You mean the uvula?"

"Yeah...that..."

"Well maybe you shouldn't stick it so far in if you're not too sure."

"Oh please, Justin. I can deep-throat you till your dick comes out my ass. I heard that's possible."

Max paused for a moment, trying to visualize the image he had just described but Justin was getting restless. He was still in his daze when he felt the familiar warmth of muscle fumble past his lips and straight to the back of his tongue like a torpedo.

"Playing rough, are we now?" Max asked with the stick of meat in his mouth, glancing up to see his brother's grumpy but adorable expression.

"You're taking way too long. Mom's gonna get suspicious."

"She'll think you're jacking off..."

"Max, just-"

"You heard Dad. '_We all do it sometimes_,'" Max said, imitating his Dad's New York accent down to the tee, though it was verging on a _Godfather_ impression. "'_It's no big deal._'" After a quick laugh at his brother's expense, Max followed through with his promise. He shoved the shaft into his mouth, but was surprised to find Justin was doing most of the work.

Justin tugged at Max's hair and bucked his hips as though he were on an invisible mechanical bull, pushing his length as far as it could into the aching mouth. Max couldn't help but crack a smile at his brother's hurried pace, but decided to keep the jokes to himself until he finished. It felt more like a mouth massage than a blowjob, and he was glad he could maintain his end of the deal without much effort. Doing nothing, as far as Max was concerned, was a creed to live by.

"Fuck...Max..." Justin said, panting, hips wild and free. "Why...do...you...have...to...be...so...fucking... _fuck...oh..."_

The moans reverberated in the linoleum tiles and it was a surprise no one had come up to check on them. Max closed his eyes, his mind wandering to dinner, his day at Central Park, the toenails he had sworn he would clip but never got around to doing - as his mouth was used and abused. The taste of pre-cum kept his senses awake and tingling, and if he hadn't been shaken out of his trance, he may have well fell asleep right there in the shower.

"Max! I'm...I'm...here it comes..._Fuck...Maaaaaaax!_"

Max instantly regained his consciousness, and everything else seemed to transpire in a fraction of a second. Justin's knees buckled and his hips thrust one final time before they gave way. The cock was yanked straight out of his mouth and delivered spurt after spur tof warm, creamy cum all over Max's face. He paused in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, the weight of the copious white load ample on his skin. It filled every contour of his face, slipping into the crevice his lips formed when they broke into a satisfactory grin. The feeling was fantastic.

"I don't know where you put all of that, Justin," Max said, his tongue lapping up every driblet of salty semen it could find. But silence followed his remark. His brother was clearly out of breath.

"We've got to start doing this more often," he continued, the deposit of seed shifting slowly down his nose. He was sure there was some in his hair, but he didn't even think twice to get it out. "Next time, just shoot it in my mouth. It's so much easier for clean-up."

His words escaped into the murmur of the shower. Justin didn't reply.

He glanced at his brother towering over him, and it was then for the first time in his life that he first noticed it.

It was a pang, almost, that shot through his chest when he saw his brother in all his muscly glory. There was just something in the way Justin cocked his head to the side, trying not to smile but doing a terrible job, his wet dark brown hairs pinned to his forehead, the very shape of his nose - which Max couldn't stand. It was strange, that way his stomach seemed to flutter and twirl, not for the prospect of casual sex but the very sight of his brother's grinning face.

Justin laughed with that air of arrogance he always carried, his arms crossed and his shoulder leaning against the wet tile. And in that moment, Max wanted to lunge at him with two hardened fists to stop him from being so irresistible.

_It's just the potion, _Max told himself when he stood up to clean his face, when he stepped out of the shower to dry off, and when he headed downstairs for dinner after getting dressed in the loneliness of his room. He had said it so many times that when the words tumbled out of his mouth for the thirtieth time, they began to lose their meaning, sounding more like a random arrangement of sounds than a proper sentence.

* * *

Dinner that night was different, to say the least, than the thousands of dinners Max had shared with his family in the comfort of their Manhattan apartment over his eighteen years of existence.

Alex had burnt the lasagna, apparently by accident (though he knew very well she had it planned all along). Pizza was ordered instead, and the Russo's congregated around the round table by the staircase like they always had.

Max sat across from his brother, but couldn't get himself to meet his gaze. And if by chance their eyes locked for a few fleeting moments, he would glance down at the pepperoni on his plate, as fast and as subtly as his eyes could. Jerry went on about how he was going to introduce a new selection of meats on the breakfast menu, Theresa nodding her head politely and seizing the lull in conversation to go on about something completely different. Alex texted all the while, one arm holding the slice of pizza while the other was out of view beneath the table, even though Theresa had a strict no-phone policy during dinner. The voices blurred into one prolonged whisper whenever Justin clinked the ice in his glass, tapped his finger on the table, _breathed_. It was obvious Justin was trying to make eye contact, but Max would conveniently grab a drink of his cola and stare into the bottom of the cup. Their bare feet brushed occasionally underneath the table and he would recoil, taking a nervous bite of his pizza or humming an unheard song at the ceiling.

The oil and grease of dinner weighed the Russos down to the couches like anchors in front of the TV in a bloated daze. It was past 10:30pm, and Max's plan to avoid his brother at all costs was in full swing when Justin finally spoke up, eyes directed at him.

"Max, you wanna go out for a drive? I can't sit around here with all this pizza in my stomach. It's making me sick."

The question caught him completely off guard, but Max cooled himself and replied. "Now?"

"Yeah, _now,_" Justin said, a warm smile filling his face. "When else?"

"Well...okay...Mom? You okay with this?" Max asked, sending his glance to his mother who was now resting her head in fatigue against a couch pillow but still awake. Jerry, on the other hand, was knocked out cold.

"Sure, honey. But I swear to God, Max, if I find you two floating in a pond somewhere again I will personally come down there and rip the skin off your backs. Understand?"

* * *

It was unusually cool that night when Max stepped into the shotgun of his brother's car - a 20-something year old, rusting five-seater car his Dad had presented to Justin the previous year.

Justin settled into his driver's seat, checking every mirror and gauge, and dusting off the dashboard with a quick sweep of his nimble fingers.

"I should really get around to cleaning ths when I've got the time," he said. The key turned in the ignition and the engine rumbled to life. The garage door crept open at snail's pace and they drove into the darkness of the street. Max didn't even question where he was being taken to, choosing to keep to himself. His eyes were fixed on the road in front of him, not even budging at the sound of his brother's odd sniffle or cough.

They were entering the Holland Tunnel when Max finally understood this wasn't going to be a simple round of the block. He was only wearing a light sweater, and though it was summer the nippiness of night seeping in through the window pinched at his skin. Justin must have noticed him scrambling for warmth, because he shot him a worried glance.

"You cold?"

The lights in the tunnel were speeding past them and it became too dizzying for Max to keep his eyes on the road. "No...well...yeah...just a little chilly...But I'm fine."

"_Chilly?" _Justin stifled a laugh and Max turned to look at him properly for the first time since dinner. He was eased back in the seat like some sexy chauffeur in a perfume commercial, one hand resting on the steering wheel while the other toyed at the gear shift. "Since when do you use the word _chilly_?"

"I can use that word whenever I want to," Max said, defensive.

"Max, what's gotten into you? You were fine before."

"I thought I said I was fine, didn't you hear me?."

"But it doesn't seem like it."

"Why not?"

"Because you usually can't stop talking. And now you're not saying a word. So something _is _up."

"No. Nothing is _up_."

"Sure. If you were the normal Max you'd be going on and on about how amazing our shower was...or how I'd completely choked up in front of Dad."

At the mention of sex, Max eased up slightly. "I guess...I was pretty good in there, though, you've gotta admit."

Justin grinned, and it felt as though the car had suddenly warmed by a few degrees. "Sure was. Best sex I've had in a long time."

"You've had sex before?" Max asked, incredulous. Despite his charm, it was bizarre to think there would be a girl who would find his awkwardness attractive. Then again, his body made up for it.

"I never said that."

"So you're a virgin?I mean, you were-"

"I _never_ said that." His lips were drawn in a playful frown but his eyes gave everything away.

"Then where else would you learn how to do anal so well? From _porn? Gay_-porn?_"_

_"_Let's just say I've got experience under my belt."

"From who? _Zeke?!_"

Justin didn't reply, but Max couldn't help to laugh. His own frown disappeared, replaced with immature glee. Silence followed, but this time it wasn't unbearable. They reached the end of the tunnel, and after Justin made a few turns they were driving parallel to the water, their home and the sub shop just infinitesimal lights over the Hudson River.

"Why are we in New Jersey?" Max asked, though his question escaped in the brooding silence of the car. They drove through blocks of small office buildings and low-rise apartments before they made a detour into a side-alley. The pavement broke into a gravelly road, stretching into an open lot of idle construction machinery and rows of long, white buildings. The car reached the end of the gravel, and it was only then that Max realized they were at the end of a pier, jutting into the river and facing the Manhattan skyline. The rumble of the engine stopped with the turn of Justin's car keys, and he unbuckled his seat belt. He sidestepped out the door and shut it behind him, leaving Max in silence again.

Max's door opened, and there stood Justin with a hand outstretched, waiting for it to be taken.

"Come on," he said. "I want to show you something."

Max hesitated, unbuckling his own seat belt but refusing to budge.

"Justin, are we even allowed to be here? There's signs and machines-"

"I promise you, we'll be alright."

"But I thought I saw a sign that said no trespassing-"

"Just trust me on this one, Max."

Max placed his hand on the warmth of his brother's and stepped out of the car onto the uneven ground. With his hand clasped tightly in Justin's palm, he was led in the dark to the front of the car, where he could look out onto the scene before him. He had never seen the skyline of his own city like this before, the lights of skyscrapers glinting across the water like stars.

"I come to Harsimus Cove to ease my mind, get away from it all, you know..." Justin said, butt pressed against the hood of the car. He lifted his body to sit, easing himself back to rest against the front window and pulled Max to sit beside him. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

The air was chilled, but the heat of summer persisted in the breeze.

"Sometimes you might see a boat pass by and they might wave at-"

The kiss was unplanned, but the timing was impeccable. Max pressed his lips against Justin's in the middle of his sentence and it may very well have lasted three seconds, or three minutes. He couldn't remember.

Max pulled away, and Justin's words were plucked right out of his mouth.

"That was for saving me today."

And not another word was spoken that night. They sat on the hood of the car, hand in hand, Max's head resting on Justin's shoulder, staring out into the shimmering expanse across the water.

There was comfort in knowing the city seemed like a distant memory, that there was no place better to be than right there in that abandoned New Jersey parking lot that night across the river.

They didn't need the lights of the metropolis to keep warm: they had each other now.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry this has taken me so long to post. I've got so much stress in the real world, but I finally came around to doing this. I put this chapter together quickly last night so hopefully there aren't too many mistakes. I told myself I would finish this fic no matter what, so I will maintain my promise.

Hopefully you are enjoying the fic so far. As always, please review! It would mean a lot to me. And remember, things take a turn in Chapter 9 so stay tuned!


	9. Chapter 9

**One Week Later**

It was those rare, Sunday afternoons in the summer when the house was empty and the air was cool enough which Max enjoyed the most. He savored every minute he could spend sleeping in past noon, undisturbed by the responsibilities of the sub shop or his mother's nagging. There was a sense of freedom on weekends he couldn't let go to waste, hanging around the house in nothing but a pair of ragged sweatpants and an old band t-shirt with nobody to impress. The chores would simply have to wait.

Max pulled a fresh bun out of the clear plastic bag and slathered it with a generous helping of mayonnaise. With precision, he lifted the hot dog from the cooled pot of water and placed it in between. He reached his hand out for the bottle of ketchup by the sink, but jolted at the touch of two arms wrapped tightly around his waist, immobilizing him. He smiled.

"Can't you see I'm doing something important?"

He could barely budge from thestrength of Justin'sgrip, and tried even harder now to reach the condiment. Justin rested his head on Max's shoulder, their cheeks pressed together.

"Watcha doin'?"

"I dunno, just feeling hungry. You didn't look like you were gonna make lunch so I had to make do with these hot dogs."

"Me? I thought you were going to make lunch for the both of us?"

Max shook his head in playful frustration. "When have I ever made lunch for you?"

He seized the bottle and spurted it along the length of the hot dog.

"You know I love me some weiner," Max said, admiring his finished product.

"_Mmmm_..."

He was caught off guard when Justin squeezed his butt, and he writhed in the cage his brother's arms made. Justin's breath was hot on his jaw, lips nibbling at his earlobes - eliciting the softest of moans from the receiving end.

Max couldn't recall a single week in his life where everything seemed to go so well. It had become a thrill to have sex in secret, trying to sneak away from his family's company with Justin to relieve his pestering hormones. They would try their best to squeeze in an evening drive every single day, exploring the sanctuary of each other's bodies in the stiff and shoddy backseat of the car in some abandoned lot. He had never imagined he'd ever be doing it doggy-style department store change-rooms, laundry room closets, or even spooning under the patio table on the terrace. Desperate times, he learned, called for desperate measures.

And after every one of these encounters, there would be moments in the afterglow of their orgasms when Max would once again feel that same pang of longing for Justin. He had become accustomed to the feeling, but seeing his brother as a boyfriend was awfully bizarre. _It's just the potion_, he'd tell himself. And strangely, he was okay with that.

The affection may have grown, but both of them quietly knew the potion should have worn off by then. It had already been a week and three days. While he bobbed away on Justin's cock with an soft lips or took it gladly from behind, the truth would materialize in his mind. He tried his best to ignore it.

"I thought Mom's making sausages tonight." Justin had released his brother from his grip and leaned languidly against the kitchen island. Max could tell all eyes were on him as he assembled another hot dog for himself.

"Yeah, she is...but she puts this marinade on them and they end up tasting like vomit and goat cheese. _Eck!"_

There was a lull in their exchange, and Max heard the shuffle of his brother's footsteps behind him. The arms he'd grown to love for their muscle but jokingly despised for their brute strength snaked their way around his hips again.

"No one's home," Justin whispered into Max's ear, hands slipping gingerly underneath the t-shirt and prying away the waistband of his pants from his skin.

"Where's Alex?" Max asked, suppressing a moan.

"Oh...At the mall or somewhere with Harper. I don't know and I _really_ don't care."

"I think she should be back soon though...Maybe in fifteen minutes."

"What time is it now?"

Max glanced at the wall-clock. "It's almost 3:30."

"There's plenty of time...Can we...please?" Justin asked, his voice riddled with the desperation of a hot and bothered young man.

Max giggled, putting aside the last of his hot dogs, and closed the lids of the ketchup and mustard. "But you take way too long. You're like an sloth."

And it was true. Lovemaking with Justin might have been long and fulfilling, but Max preferred it rough and quick. His brother had grown out of his inexperience from the past week and had become more cautious with the way he handled Max's body, always careful not to thrust too hard and crush him under his weight.

"I am _not _a sloth, Max. I can be fast when I need to be. You just never ask."

"You'll be up my ass and Alex will walk right through that door, just wait and see."

"No, she won't. I'm pretty sure she'll be back after six."

Max sighed. "I bet you can't even finish in five minutes if you tried."

"Is this a challenge?"

"Sure, and if you win, I'll make you a hot dog."

"That's it? A lousy hot dog?"

"Fine. Hot dog and a lemonade. Even though I've never made lemonade in my life."

"Oh, just you wait and see."

Justin fumbled for his magic wand on the kitchen island and held it firmly in his hand. He muttered the _clothes-be-gone_ spell and in an instant, they were both nude and fully erect. The sight of Justin's nude and chiseled body was no longer a big deal for Max, though the thought of what would ensue was enough to send shivers down his spine and twitches through his cock.

Justin pinned Max's back to the counter, pressing himself as close as possible to him without touching, and kissed his lips as if he had somewhere else to go. Their sex followed a somewhat consistent routine, and it seemed like Justin was following it step by step.

Justin's lips followed their well-traveled trail down Max's smooth chest, past his abs, and to his crotch where the prize stood alert and ready. He enveloped the trembling length, beaming from ear to ear. Max groaned.

"Fuck, Justin. You're getting better everyday. You know, we should make Mom put a chart on the wall to track your progress."

"Mhm..."

"We could put stickers and little post-it notes on it and everything."

His brother shot him a look, as though he were silently telling him to shut up while bobbing his head along the shaft.

In his horny trance, Max's mind drifted to a weekday morning, long before he drank the potion. He had made a friendly bet with Justin to see if he could really fit an entire banana in his mouth like he claimed. Much to his own dismay and awe, the length of the fruit fit in Justin's mouth with ease, though he would have never guessed such a useless talent would ever have come in handy. He grinned. _If only that banana shot a load on his face. Now THAT would have been priceless._

The image of a cum-soaked Justin persisted in his mind, and with a playful burstof energy, Max decided he would 'spice-up' an otherwise methodical blowjob. His balls tightened and he was aware his climax was near. With his brother right in the firing range, there would be no better time to carry out his plan.

"Hey, Justin."

Justin was too engrossed in the pace of his mouth on the rod of muscle to be paying any attention.

"Justin, look up. I wanna show you something."

His brother glared at him, his cock-sucking lips still moving back and forth, but ignored his pestering.

"Justin! Justin! Look!"

It had taken a few tries before Justin finally gave into the trap. "What the hell do you want-"

But before Justin could finish his sentence, Max's cock unleashed its violent, creamy fury. With hands clenching the counter and moans escaping his lips, he erupted surge after surge of hot, white jizz all over his unsuspecting brother. Justin tried to flinch away from the spray, but by the time he stood up, his face was dripping with long streaks of seed.

"Did I get you in the eye?" Max said, holding in his laughter and huffs of exhaustion. The sight was satisfying.

Justin grabbed a paper towel from the counter and wiped his face, then turned to stare down Max. "I'm gonna get you back so hard you'll wish you never messed with me."

"Oh Justin, you're a feisty one. I like it."

With a swift move of his arms Justin lifted Max by the knees and swooped him over his shoulder like a firefighter. It was a short walk to the couch, and with no trace of the caution or measured movements Justin had been so notorious for in the bedroom, he unloaded Max's naked body on the couch.

Max fell on his side, but from his height he was at eye level with Justin's cock. It only seemed natural to move in for a reciprocal blowjob, but Justin was too quick for him. His sturdy arms shoved Max's lower body off the orange couch cushions to make space, and he wriggled in behind him. They were side to side now in a spooning position - Max's body teetering precariously over the edge. With no view of Justin but only of the television and the front door, Max trembled with arousal and fear.

There was no time for talking. His right leg flew up without warning and the head of Justin's dick pushed at the tightening rings of muscles in his ass. A clumsy hand shoved the muscle into the entrance without loosening it, sending Max into a bout of yelps.

"What the fuck Justin! _Oh_...shit!"

But Justin showed no signs of stopping. His breaths were shaky against Max's neck, but with a few more thrusts of his hips, his manhood planted itself neatly into the plump behind. With no pause for breath, Justin pushed himself deeper into the hole, his eyes fixed on his brother's pained expressions all the while.

Max was not the one to be loud during sex, but he couldn't help himself from shrieking like a teenage girl with every thrust. He was flushed, his face red and tears brimming in his eyes, cock flopping helplessly about but humming back to life. It would not have been a surprise if the tenants of the building across the street had heard his wails of pleasure. He could barely form curses in his mouth while his bottom end was bombarded, and in the sweaty frenzy Justin managed to crane his head far enough to slip his tongue past Max's lips. They had both clearly gotten more than they had bargained for.

Jerry had done work on the front door just the previous weekend, oiling up the hinges and adding a stopper. So when it flew open, it made no sound.

The Russo Boy's threw their heads back as Justin's twitching dick spewed forth rope after rope of steaming, pearly jizz filled Max's aching asshole. It filled to the brim, dribbling over the edges of muscle and when Justin pulled out completely and let it spray the skin of Max's behind. Still groaning, Justin plunged his cock back in with ease this time, letting it bathe in its juices and sputter to an exhausted close in the confines of his brother's ass.

When Max's head regained its balance and his panting diminished, the image he had been dreading for days materialized before him.

There, at the front door, stood Alex. And he did the only thing he could possibly think of. He froze, mid-moan, his legs still held by Justin in the air. Straddled from behind with his brother's 7-and-a-half inch dick half way up his leaking asshole. Covered in semen. Butt naked. On the couch. With his brother. His _brother._

Minutes and hours could have passed in those silent moments he watched his sister, standing there with her eyes bursting and her jaw hanging as if it had a screw loose.

She did not say a word. The shell-shock from her pale white face disappeared, and her eyes looked faint.

It was difficult to tell what had been louder: the sound of Justin's girlish shriek or Alex's lifeless body plopping on the hardwood floor.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry for the cliffhanger, but you'll just have to stay tuned for the next chapter! Please review and let me know what you think so far!


	10. Chapter 10

She was sprawled on the floor, contorted like a rag doll, with the faintest tinge of horror still on her face. Max lurched forward at the shove of Justin's hands and landed face first on the living room rug.

"Max!" Justin shrieked, sounding like someone had stuffed a sock down his throat. "Alex...she's...and she...must have...seen...oh..._shit_..."

Still slouched on the carpet, Max peered up at his brother. Justin's nude form was stretched across the couch like a reclining Greek statue, but there was no comfort in his posture. He looked awfully tense; his face was drained of its color, eyebrows scrunched with worry and teeth still clenched, reminding Max of the previous Saturday when they had almost been busted for showering together. But these circumstances were far different. They might not be able to get away with this one.

It took Max a few moments to gather himself, but now all he could try to ensure was his brother's well being. If Justin fainted along with his sister, there would be far worse things for him in store.

"Justin, calm down," Max said, sitting cross-legged now with the tip of his softening dick grazing the threads of the carpet. "We'll figure this out."

"Figure this out?!"

Justin had stood up, and Max followed suit so that they were standing face to face. They were both shamelessly naked, but the sight of their bodies didn't seem as arousing as it did a few minutes before. There was a far greater problem at hand. Justin shifted to investigate his sister, but Max placed a weary hand on his shoulder to still him.

"Wait, Justin. We should probably put on clothes first. What if she wakes up right now and sees us like this? She might have a heart attack or something."

Without saying a word, Justin reached for his wand and waved his weak hand in the air. Once he muttered the reverse spell, their set of clothes re-emerged onto their bodies as if they had never been removed.

They tiptoed to their sister's body and hovered over it with caution. Justin crouched down, and with a shivering hand tapped her on the shoulder.

"Alex...Alex...wake up..."

But she didn't respond.

"Alex...c'mon Alex...Alex? _Alex?_" Justin said, his voice more frantic and strained. He glared at Max, and his eyebrows arched in alarm. "You killed Alex!"

"Me?!" Max retorted, caught off guard by the sudden blame. "Last time I checked, it was_ your_ dick up _my _ass!"

"Well I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't told me I was so slow-"

"If you hadn't been so horny then I wouldn't have mentioned it!"

"Max! How am I supposed to control my hormones-" Justin paused, and gave his fainted sister a long and weary look. "Look, we can't fight right now. Mom and Dad are gonna be home in half an hour and if they find Alex like this then we're pretty much screwed." Max watched as his brother glanced around the room frantically, his fingers probing Alex's wrist.

"Why don't we just use a memory erase spell?" Max suggested.

"No, no," Justin shook his head, still feeling for a pulse. "That spell has too many glitches. We might erase her entire memory if we don't do it right."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing." But the suggestion was lost on Justin, who was intent on proving he had not been indirectly responsible for his sister's death.

"She's still got a pulse, so she's alive," Justin said, counting from one to sixty under his breath. "Maybe we should just come clean and tell her what happened before we get into more trouble."

Max was startled by his brother's suggestion. "Tell her?! Tell her _what, _exactly? I drank a potion and now we're committing insects?"

"Insects? You mean incest."

"Oh, whatever! Same thing."

"Well you don't need to put it like that. Besides, she might even be cool with this whole thing."

The thought of telling Alex what had been going on between him and Justin for the past week was terribly unnerving, but idea didn't seem that far-fetched. Considering she was usually the one to mess up spells, there was a chance she'd be open to a little sibling forgiveness.

"Max, we need to kick her out of shock before she slips into a coma. I need you to go and get me something that could wake her up."

"Who died and made you boss?"

"Max. Do what I tell you, _please_."

The thought seemed perfect when it popped into Max's mind. Without hesitating, he ran upstairs to his room and grabbed the stinkiest gym sock he could find. When he returned, Justin was hauling the lifeless body carefully onto the couch.

"This'll do the trick," Max said, the frayed sock dangling from his pinched fingers. After a silent countdown in his head, he held his breath and threw the sock onto his sister's nose.

As if the alarms in her brain had simultaneously sounded, Alex's eyes burst wide open. She shot up from the couch and coughed at the bitter stench of Max's perspiration. The coughing fit subsided, and at the first sight of her brothers, her eyes grew to triple their size.

"You!" she said, pointing right at Max. "You were just...on this couch...and...I'm gonna _puke_..."

Max shot a worried look at his brother and back to his sister, and realized it would be best to play his dumb card. "What are you talking about?" He nudged Justin by the elbow to play along.

"Yeah..." Justin said slowly, unsure of where his brother's plan would go. "Did you have a bad dream?"

"Oh don't try to pull that one on me, Justin. I wasn't born yesterday. I saw everything. You guys were fucking on this couch and I saw all of it." And with that, her voice trailed off and she broke into sobs.

There was no use in trying to cover up what had been seen. Max took a seat beside his sister, and with an arm wrapped affectionately around her shoulders he spoke right into her ear. "Look, Alex. I can explain everything."

She sighed, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers and he took it as a sign to begin explaining himself.

"I was looking through Dad's trunk in the lair last Thursday and found a love potion...and it looked tasty so I just had to try it-"

"A _love _potion? Max! Why?!"

"Just let me finish!" He sighed, and continued. "Justin was down in the lair with me and I read on the bottle that the love potion works with whoever is in the room with you-"

"It's whoever you lay eyes on first," Justin intercepted, then cowered when Alex glared at him.

"Yeah, yeah, something stupid like that. And I looked right at Justin to test it out...and it must have worked _really_ well because we ended up-"

"Oh my god. You didn't."

"_Alex! _Wait till the end of my story to comment."

"I don't know why I'm asking this but...did you guys...?"

It was uncomfortable to meet his sister's gaze, so with his eyes fixed on the ground he nodded. Alex let out a gasp of air before he continued.

"So the next day...this was last Friday...when Justin and I had a shift we decided to call the WPA and the lady on the phone said it would wear off in one week so we've got nothing to worry about! See! Problem solved already!"

By the time he was finished, Alex looked slightly more at ease to know magic was behind all of this.

"Max, haven't we all told you not to mess around with magic?" she said, and then looked down at her hands with a frustrated smile. "_Did I really just say that?_" Her sobbing had reduced to hiccups, but her eyes were still red with tears.

"So you're okay with all of this?" Max asked with his puppy dog eyes set into overdrive.

"_Okay?_ You expect everything to be fine and dandy after I just walked in on my brothers fucking in my living room? That's the kind of stuff that scars you for life, Max. I'm gonna be crying about that when I'm ninety." She paused, fiddling her fingers and shrinking to shrug away from Max's arm. A look of disgust flickered across her face when she finally realized she was sitting on the same couch her brothers had just been naked on.

"Didn't you say the lady on the phone told you it should've worn off a week from Thursday?" Alex said, examining the couch closely for semen stains.

"Yeah," Max said.

"So when did you drink the potion?"

"Last Thursday."

"And today's Sunday. It's been a week and three days, dumbass."

Max glanced at Justin, but he was either too perplexed or still silent with anxiety to answer. "I dunno...I guess it's different for everyone."

"No, Max. You can't just justify it like that and expect everything to be okay. We're gonna look into this."

Alex's sudden interest to put an end to the relationship he had going with his brother, no matter how strange, was disheartening. He had hoped that against all odds, no one would ever bring up the subject and that they could keep what they had going forever. He glimpsed Justin, who was shuffling his bare feet against the rug with a blank look on his face.

"And one more thing," Alex said when she finally got up from the couch and wiped away her tears and snot with her sleeve. "All those days you sneaked off in the car...was that to..." but she stopped herself from continuing. Her face was turning green. "Oh god...why did I even ask..."

* * *

Alex chose to stick around in her room for the rest of the night, only coming out of her self-imposed exile for dinner. Her decision was quite understandable, considering what she had witnessed. Max decided not to speak to anyone following the incident either, especially Justin, for fears things would come to a head.

Jerry and Theresa returned home, and when dinner was set the Russo siblings were left with no other option but to congregate around the round dinner table they had come to love and loathe. The Italian sausages sat plump in the casserole dish, slathered in wine-marinade and covered in steaming onions and peppers. Max took a seat across from Justin like he usually did, and had no choice but to sit right beside his sister.

"Jerry," Theresa began, scooping rice onto her plate in neat little domes. "I've been meaning to tell you. I was thinking we should buy a proper desk for these kids to study on when school starts again."

Jerry was engrossed in devouring the sausage on his plate, battling a shred of meat with his fork, and spoke between messy chews of his food. "And where exactly are we gonna put it?"

"I was thinking in the lair. Where your trunk is now."

"My trunk? And where are we going to keep my trunk?"

"I wanted to throw it out." Theresa nibbled nervously on a piece of boiled broccoli, averting her gaze from Jerry to reach for the salt shaker. "It's filled with useless junk anyways. I mean c'mon, honey. That stuff should've been thrown out along with our Betamax player."

"But that stuff is important to me! I thought you knew that, honey! And the trunk has been in our family for 500 years."

"Look, Jerry," Theresa said, sounding more cross. "The trunk is probably a knock-off from a garage sale, first of all-"

"That's not true."

"And I'm sorry it's come to this, but there's things that have been in there since the '80s that you probably should have thrown out ages ago."

Jerry's face was turning pink with rage. "Like what," he said with the attitude of a stubborn toddler.

"For starters, you've got a whole bag of Reagan campaign buttons and a stack of old magazines-"

"But those things have value, Theresa! We could sell them at an auction for a hundred dollars a piece!"

"Oh _please_, Jerry. That stuff won't even pay for the gas money it takes to get to the auction. And what about all those old potions just wasting away in bottles? I'm pretty sure most of them were recalled at some point."

Max eyed his parents as they continued their argument, and knew there was no way to stop it unless he cleverly interrupted. He took the first opportunity he could while his mother was preoccupied with adding pepper to her vegetables.

"Justin, can you pass me a sausage?"

Justin glared at him, and the chews of his food grew long and measured. The sausage dish was right beside his plate, but he showed no signs of moving.

"That one right there," Max said, pointing at the one he wanted. Justin was still frozen. "The long and juicy one beside the onions."

"Get it yourself," Justin replied, cold and uninflected. "Or take a piece of Dad's."

"But I want yours, Justin. Dad's sausage is for Dad. Just give me your sausage."

"But I don't want to."

"But it's so thick."

"_No_, Max."

"I don't know if you heard me, Justin." Max raised his voice and set his fork down on the table. "I want your Italian sausage. Now."

Alex intercepted, somehow picking up on her brother's innuendo. "Max. You want the one in the dish. _Not _Justin's. He doesn't want to give you his sausage."

"No. I don't want the one in the dish anymore. I want Justin's sausage. In my mouth. Right now."

Justin furled his eyebrows and shot worried glances at everyone around the table, but it didn't seem like his parents were interested in their exchange. Max continued, this time placing both his hands flat on the table to show he meant business.

"You can't stop me from getting your sausage just 'cause Alex says so. I'd let you eat my sausage so I don't see why you shouldn't give me yours."

"Me?" Alex said to Max. "What have I got to do with you wanting Justin's sausage." She calmed herself before continuing. "Justin, keep your sausage to yourself. Max, you better keep yours to yourself to before I slap you."

Enraged, Max shot up from his seat, nearly flipping his plate over in the process. "Justin. You've been giving me your sausage for the past week now so I don't know what the problem is. I want your sausage."

"No, Justin, don't listen to him. It's not supposed to be like this," Alex said, her words spilling through clenched teeth.

"Then how come Mom gets to have Dad's sausage?"

"Because that's just how it is, Max! They're married! For the love of God, you and Justin are not supposed to be sharing sausage like that! It's gross!"

"Enough!" Theresa yelled. "Why are you all arguing over a sausage?"

The table went silent, except for the scraping of Alex's fork on her plate. Max had no choice but to sit down again, afraid that his rage would compel him to do things he'd soon regret.

* * *

It was necessary for Max to take some time for himself on the terrace after the sausage fiasco, to cool himself off and think things through. Theresa and Jerry were upstairs in bed, but Alex and Justin lingered in the living room. He rested his chin on the concrete, looking out over the city and the crawling Lower Manhattan traffic like radiant ants.

Felt slippers paced towards him, and by the cautiousness of each step he knew it was his brother before he even spoke.

"What's your deal, Max?" Justin asked. Max turned around sharply and found him leaning against a patio chair in his Captain Jim-Bob pajamas's and fuzzy robot slippers, with his arms crossed and a dorky frown on his face. There was a hole right near his crotch and it was large enough to catch a glimpse of his cock, but now was not the time to point out his observation.

"It's you, Justin. The way you acted over dinner."

"Is this really about the sausage?" Justin asked, sighing. "You need to grow up."

"Look, Justin, this isn't about the sausage. It's about us."

"There is no us," Justin said. The words felt like a blow to the stomach.

Justin paced to the edge of the terrace and rested his elbows on the railing, squinting into the city lights. "You heard Alex, didn't you? It's not supposed to be like this."

"Since when have you ever listened to Alex?"

"Since I realized all of this was wrong, okay?"

"What was so wrong about this?"

"I don't know if you've noticed this, Max, but we're brothers."

Tears were forming in Max's eyes, and if he hadn't blinked fast enough, they would have given him away. "Maybe drinking that potion was the stupidest thing I've ever done."

"Yeah."

"Yeah? So just like that, you're going to forget this whole week happened."

"This is all your fault anyways," Justin said, his eyes filled with malice. He paused at the echo of an ambulance in the distance, glancing to judge which direction it was coming from. When the sirens subsided, he glared back at his brother.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Max said, fighting to keep his voice steady.

"You were stupid enough to drink the potion and so you're clearly stupid enough to believe this could have worked."

"Oh! So now I'm stupid?"

"Yes, Max! It's a miracle people still take you seriously when you've got a brain the size of a fucking peanut."

It took great strength to restrain himself from shoving Justin right over the balcony in his fit of rage. There may have been temporary satisfaction in seeing his body splattered across Waverly Place. But he swiftly erased the image from his mind, ashamed for ever thinking up such a horrid thing, and returned to his senses.

"You know what, Justin," Max said, pacing towards his brother until their noses were practically touching. "Fuck you. _Fuck _you. And fuck me too, for ever thinking you were nice. You're an arrogant piece of shit, Justin, that's all you are."

"God fucking dammit Max you're a dumb ass! And I don't think you'll ever understand how wrong this all was." The words cut like knives. And just when he thought the stream of insults were over, Justin continued.

"You aren't capable of doing anything but making my life a living hell." He closed his eyes and stopped to catch his breath. "You're hopeless, Max."

"You know what," Max croaked solemnly, tears streaming down his face. "Maybe I'm gonna listen to Alex and undo this spell."

"Be my guest," Justin said, overly patient, eyes still fixed on the city skyline. "No one's stopping you."

Max blinked at him, eyelashes wet with tears. "I can't believe I ever thought you were gonna be different. You're just like how you used to be, Justin."

It took Justin a few moments to reply. But when he did, he turned to face his crying brother with not the slightest hint of compassion on his face.

"You think I fucking wanted this?" Justin says, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What about all those times you told me I-"

"You know what? Go cry, Max. Cry in the corner like the little bitch you are. I don't care."

The lapse in speech between them was unbearable. The rustle of patio curtains with the breeze rang in Max's ears like it had been amplified. Max sulked away from his brother, trying his hardest to stifle any further tears, but there was no use.

"So that's it?" Max said, seemingly into the empty void of night. "You used me and now you're done so you throw me out like I'm some piece of trash?"

"Uh-huh."

"You don't care about me, Justin. You wouldn't care if I jumped and killed myself right now."

"Go right ahead, Max," Justin said with tired eyes. "It would make my life so much easier."

There was only so much Max could endure. He stormed off, leaving Justin on his own. It was difficult to see ahead of him through foggy eyes, but it was obvious Alex was eavesdropping from the couches. The television was on mute and she had craned her head to silently look on. There was true concern in her eyes that Max had never really seen before. But he stormed past her and up the stairs, tears rolling down his cheeks, and never looked back.


	11. Chapter 11

Max hated the smell of old books - that musty stench which rose from the pages when they were turned, tinging the air with decay. In truth, it was legitimate to say that Max could not stand books of any kind. To say it was because of his less-than-average intellect would have been too much of a generalization. According to him, there was far more he could learn from the world by getting his hands dirty, than disciplining himself to read the musings of some archaic author. He wanted little to do with the world of the intelligent, but on this particular Monday afternoon, he could not escape it.

The large book was splayed open on the workbench in front of him. Max leaned in from his perch on the stool. The writing was printed, tiny and slightly smudged, and he squinted his eyes to read:

_Chapter XVI_, _subsection 245 (a): A comparative toxicology of both natural and synthetic potions and elixirs found in domains foreign to the Wizard World_

Max traced his fingers across the words, feeling the bumps in the paper and hoping that somehow the answers to his questions would materialize. But there was clearly no use.

His gaze lifted from the pages of the book and adjusted to the dim light of the lair. It was strangely quiet, so quiet that the purr of the sub shop refrigerator emanated through the walls.

Alex was seated at the far edge of the lair at a desk, the blue of a computer screen aglow on her face. Her eyes were glued to her reading. She rested her chin on one hand while the other deftly scrolled the mouse, pausing only to readjust her shirt or pick the peeling skin on her lip.

Just a few meters away sat Justin on his couch, beside a tall pile of old books and manuals, wearing his pair of thick-rimmed tortoiseshell glasses. Like Alex, he too was immersed in his reading. His eyes darted across each page, and if the material was deemed irrelevant to his search, a sinewy hand placed the book on the other side of his chair. And in a never-ending cycle which seemed to persist for most of the late afternoon, he'd pick up another dusty book, open its first page, and begin his search again.

Alex had initiated the idea of researching the lair for a solution to the love potion dilemma quietly over breakfast, careful so as not to let the matter slip into her parent's earshot. There was no resistance on Max's side. He nodded his head, muttered a few words and scraped the bottom of his cereal bowl for stray flakes. Justin's agreement came sullenly as well, but Max couldn't bear to look at his face, considering what had unfolded the night before.

He refused to have anything to do with his brother. As easy as it may have been to ignore Justin while sitting in the same room, the thoughts would intrude Max's mind afterward when they were apart, gnawing at his insides like bloodthirsty parasites. Reminiscing about the week they had been together like a pair of star-crossed lovers suddenly became a painful thing, and he tried his best to erase it from memory. But when he glanced at his brother again in the lair and found he was staring too long, he realized he hadn't succeeded in that department.

And so they had slipped into the lair when their parents were on their lowest guard, raiding the shelves and the bottom cupboards and the World Wide Wizard Web for any trace of an answer. They sifted through endless volumes of wizard manuals, periodicals, magazines, and first edition spell books that had once dwelt in the decrepit attics of ancestral Russo homes in Sicily for centuries. It was a long afternoon spent skimming through all sixteen volumes of Fogliano's "The Universal Dictionary of Spells and Elixirs", Schimmel's "An Encyclopedia of Wizarding Crafts, Arts and Sciences", or Van den Broeck's "Compendium of Potions and Reversals" in their original and now fragile hardcover prints. And it seemed for quite some time like they had all cleverly eluded the topic of love potion reversals for siblings.

"Justin! Justin!" Alex said, tapping the monitor with the tip of her finger so it made a hollow knocking sound. "I think I got something!"

A part of Max was disappointed upon hearing his sister's excitement, but another was slightly relieved. At least he no longer had to sift through the old books anymore.

Justin set his book down and rose from his seat with caution, as if he had foreseen that Alex's information would not be accurate. He paced to the computer and bent over beside Alex to read the text on the screen.

"Is this a trusted site?" Justin asked, seizing the mouse and scrolling up the page.

"_Is this a trusted site?_" Alex replied in her greatest imitation of Justin's berating tone. "Of course it's a trusted site, Justin, it's from Wiz-tech. See," she said, pointing to the simple header of the webpage. "Wizard Polytechnic Institute. Now stop being such an asshole and read."

"I wasn't trying to be-," Justin broke off, then inhaled deeply and shook his head in frustration. Alex scooted over in her seat, letting Justin sit on the edge. He furled his brows as his eyes followed each line. He read for what felt like an hour, muttering the occasional _Hmm... _or _Uh-huh _under his breath_, _before he leaned back in the chair and scrunched his lips.

"Yup," he said, barely audible with his mouth drawn in a fine line. "This looks credible."

Excitement lit up in Alex's eyes and she peered at the computer screen, now with greater interest in what she'd just unearthed. "So what does it say?" she asked, her voice giddy.

Justin cleared his throat and read aloud from the page. "Love potions used by wizards are typically well tolerated. However, there exist cases in which potions manufactured to induce feelings of love and lust are misused by the owner," he said, each word sounding like they had been directed sharply at Max. "Love potion reversals which have exceeded the reversal date outlined by the Wizard Potion Association, and/or have produced side effects not listed by the manufacturer must be dealt with as soon as possible. For more information, please follow one of the links below or call our toll-free customer service line."

Justin's voice trailed off, and after a few clicks of the mouse, he spoke again. "Hey Max, can you-"

Max, who had been invisible up until then, jolted out of his daze at the sound of his name. But when he looked up, Justin fell silent.

"Alex," Justin continued, staring hard at the screen. "Get me the potion bottle."

She stood up from the chair and walked the short distance to the shelf, where bottles, both empty and full, were placed. At the end of the long row of glass vials was the smallest one, its walls stained with purple, marked with "Sherwood's Love Potion" on its peeling label. Careful so as not to drop it, she picked it up with her fingers and handed it to her brother, who took it from her with surprisingly less care. With the light from the table-side lamp illuminating its label, Justin studied the bottle swiftly and returned his gaze to the screen.

"This potion is a Class B elixir, which means we're gonna have to see The Forest Wizard," Justin said with a hoarse voice.

"Okay, so what are we waiting for then?" Alex replied, reaching for her wand. With her hand held high in the air, she began the spell. "_Let's go visit the forest wizard, take us to-_"

"Alex!" Justin said with his arms outstretched in an attempt to stop his sister's antic. "Wait! What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" she said, and began to recite the spell again. "_Let's go visit the forest wiz-"_

"No!" Justin said, his voice high and breathy. "It says here that he lives incognito."

"So why don't we go to cognito and find him there?"

"No, Alex," Justin said, then released a huff of air. Max could recognize that condescending sigh from a mile away, and something in him pined for it. He'd never imagined he'd ever miss his brother talking down to him, but there was no use in mulling over the past. Justin continued, this time in a lower tone. "Nobody knows exactly where he lives, but his house is somewhere in the Adirondack mountains."

"Adirondack?! Isn't that near Canada?" Alex said, aghast. She sighed, tossing her wand back on the desk, and strolled to a chair where she landed in exhaustion. "Why couldn't he just choose something easier to get to? Like, Central Park? Or the zoo?"

"Look, that's not our biggest issue right now. He knows how to reverse this spell and even it takes 5 hours to get there it's all gonna be worth it."

"It better be."

"There's a town in the mountains called Tupper Lake and it's pretty well known in the Wizard World. It says here that a shaman there will show us the way-"

"What if we drive all the way and he isn't even there?"

"Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take."

Alex closed her eyes, rubbing her temples with her fingers. "This forest wizard needs to get off his high horse and just tell us where he lives. Is he really so ugly that he has to hide out in some trees?"

The solution sounded too good to be true, but Max was reluctant, nevertheless. He didn't budge from the stool, choosing rather to look on like a silent bystander. After all, it was Justin who had told him that his brain was the size of a peanut, so what could he possibly contribute?

"There's just one problem," Justin said, looking only at Alex. "We won't make it back in one day. How are we gonna get this past Mom and Dad?"

Alex laughed her signature, maniacal laugh, twiddling her fingers like an evil genius. "Justin, Justin, Justin. You might be book smart, but there's a whole lot you need to learn."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, don't you worry your little head off. I've got this one in the bag."

Alex certainly delivered on her promise. It only took one short phone call to their wealthy great aunt Consuela, who Alex knew was dying to see her parents. An all-inclusive one-week trip to Phoenix, Arizona for the both of them was taken care of. In the days that followed, the three made preparations for the road trip to the Adirondacks in secret, packing up their equipment and clothing in backpacks along with canned food, and stashed them in the lair.

Jerry and Theresa left for the airport in the late afternoon on Friday, nearly one week after the meeting in the lair. The moment they stepped out the door, the Russo siblings kicked into action. They filed into Justin's car - Alex riding shotgun and Max silently in the backseat - and drove off into the unknown.

* * *

**A/N: **I'm in the process of writing all the chapters of this fic till the end, so once I'm done I will be posting them regularly every week. The final chapter will be posted on Friday, August 30! The upcoming school year is going to be extremely hectic so I will not be able to continue this fic into September (unfortunately), so I'll have to end it off this summer. Until then, enjoy! And please review!


	12. Chapter 12

The rusting beige car sped along the western edge of Manhattan island under a ceiling of stormy grey, hastening its retreat from the dreaded Friday evening rush.

The back seat window was rolled down all the way and Max rested his head on the door ledge, letting the wind tousle his soft brown curls and whip his eyes dry. Out his window, the view held no thrill but a seemingly eternal panorama of the Hudson River. Alex was too occupied with her phone to take heed to him, so it was useless to initiate conversation. He was sitting right behind his brother, and from his position all he could only catch a glimpse of the back of his head. The car turned onto the George Washington Bridge and as the buildings got smaller and the patches of trees grew more frequent, the metropolis they called home drifted further behind them.

They crossed the state line briefly on Route 17 and wound through the quaint hamlets of New Jersey. Highways merged and split like dancing ribbons and they were soon bound north on Highway 87, cutting right back into their home state of New York and straight into the heart of the Appalachians. It seemed Alex was keen on stopping for a bathroom break every hour, making it an excuse to restock her snack or magazine stash. Justin complied with little protest when she darted out of the car. A few awkward moments that Max dreaded would inevitably follow, when it was just the two of them - listening to each other's breathing but refusing to speak a word.

The smells of the forest grew with every mile they crossed on their way to the Adirondacks. Musky smells of birch and pine wafted through the windows, intermingling with the wet smells of moss and undergrowth, seeping in through the cracks in the car and tickling their noses. The odd diner would pass by like a flicker of light and the beckoning aromas of BBQ smoke, burgers and fries would linger for another mile. A drizzle began at Newburgh, turned into a thunderstorm just past Coxsackie, and broke away to an innocent mist when they reached the outer suburbs of Albany - Normans Kill, Westmere, Latham. And the asphalt of the road unfurled as though it were infinite, stretching endlessly into the American thicket. If a patch of farmland appeared it would be for a blink, only to be replaced by abysmal greenery again.

It must have been eight o'clock, just on the outskirts of Warrensburg when the car engine sputtered, giving way to a chorus of clatter and knocking. Max was startled by the sound, lifting his head from the ledge and pausing to steady himself. Alex clenched both sides of her seat to ride out the turbulence as Justin swerved to the edge of the highway.

"What the _hell _was that?!" Alex said when the car came to a rest on the gravely shoulder of the road. Justin turned off the car, and they hadn't realized until then how loud the engine had been. Silence set in, broken by the occasional sound of a car or truck whizzing by on the highway.

"I have no idea..." Justin said, examining the pedals with a push of his feet.

"What do you mean you have no idea?"

"Do I look like a mechanic to you, Alex?"

Max did not utter a word in the backseat, helpless observing the exchange between his siblings. It was hard to tell where they were exactly, as both sides of the road were flanked by thick forest and there was not a single road sign in sight. For a summer evening, the overcast of cloud made it bizarrely dark.

"Look," Justin said, donning his thin sweater and zipping it up to his neck. "We'll open up the hood and figure out what's wrong. No big deal."

"This better work Justin," Alex said, doing the same with her indigo overcoat, "or I'm walking home."

The three of them stepped out of the car, careful not to wander too far into oncoming traffic. Justin paced around to the vehicle's front and unhitched the rusting hood, gently creaking it open. With both hands on his hips, he glanced at the valves and pipes. Alex, on the other hand, had her arms crossed tight against her chest - seeing right through her brother's charade.

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you."

Justin pressed his finger to his lips and grimaced.

"I knew this would happen," Alex said, kicking her foot against the tire. "I knew it. I can't believe we relied on this piece of shit."

"It is not a piece of shit, Alex. Don't talk about my car like that."

"Oh, I'll say what I want to. You know why, Justin? Because I'm not the one who decided we should come all the way out here to the forest in a car that belongs in the junkyard."

"Well maybe if you'd stop yelling at me I could figure out what's wrong! Geeze!"

The argument blurred to the back of Max's attention, and when he took the time to scan around the car he could see, from a distance, a light flicker through the fog - the orb inching closer until its holder materialized. It was easy to mistake the silhouette for a tall, slender woman but as it neared Max knew it was a man.

By the time he stepped out of the fog his features could be discerned. He was a skinny man, with graying hair slicked back into a tight and greasy pony tail. A logger jacket and a pair of faded blue jeans hung on his thin frame. His face was flecked with grey hairs, his eyes hidden behind the thick lenses of his glasses.

"Guys!" Max said a couple of times to stop his sibling's argument. "Look! Someone's coming!"

Alex turned sharply behind her and saw the man approaching, immediately waving her hands in his direction. "Help!" she cried, though Justin refused to join in out of pure embarrassment, and had his eyes fixed on the ground.

The man directed his flashlight at the three of them cowering by the car. He smiled, revealing his set of yellow and crooked teeth.

"Well, well, well," he said with a southern twang. When he looked squarely at each of them, Max realized one of his eyes was drooping in its socket.

"Whatter y'all doin up here by yerselves?"

"It's our car, sir," Justin said, hesitant, shielding his eyes from the light. "Our engine failed and we had to pull over."

"Well why don't I just take a look and see what's up then, if y'all don't mind."

"No, not at all. Go ahead, please."

"The name's Billy Slater, by the way, but you can call me Bill. Nice to meet y'all." The man ducked his head underneath the hood and grunted as he unscrewed caps and fiddled with pipes. When he was finished, he pulled a rag from his pocket and wiped the black grease from his hands.

"Well ain't this a sight..." he said, clicking his tongue in dismay.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked.

"Look's like a spark knock."

"A spark knock?" Justin intercepted, keen for Billy's clarification.

"Yes, son, a spark knock. There's too much heat in 'yer combustion chamber. EGR valve looks fried. What year is this?"

"It's a 1989 Pontiac Sunbird," Justin said.

"Well that's yer problem right there! Drivin' a twenty-three year old car!" Billy laughed, wiping the last of the grease off his fingers before stuffing the rag into his jacket pocket.

"I tried to tell him, Bill," Alex said, rolling her eyes in mock disappointment. "But what can you do. I think he's trying to collect antiques."

"Must not be good with the ladies then, am I right?"

Alex laughed. "That would be an understatement."

Justin glared at the two of them, straightening his expression when Billy spoke again. "This ain't no easy fix, kids. I'm gonna see what I can do. I own a motel just a few hundred meters up the road. Y'all can stay the night, free of charge."

"Well that's awfully nice of you!" Alex said, her face bright. "Justin, you've gotta give the nice man a tip."

Justin reluctantly unearthed his wallet and handed Billy a twenty dollar bill, but was turned away.

"I'll be damned if I let you kids gimme money," Billy said, shaking his head with a smile on his face. "I can't heckle y'all for cash! Life's too short!"

Billy strolled back into the fog and returned just a few moments later with a tow truck. The three of them hopped in and drove, with the Sunbird trailed behind them, kicking up the gravel from the road.

* * *

The Shady Pines Motor Inn was a depressingly shabby excuse for a motel, to say the least, with its kitschy Americana and cheap light fixtures. It was a two story building, nestled in the forests of Warren County, run by Billy Slater and his wife. The building was most likely constructed in the fifties and was terribly maintained. Wallpaper peeled at the corners, oozing with the vintage smells of smoke, sex, and alcohol.

After unloading their things in their room, the three were invited to a candlelit dinner with the Slater's in the smoking room. Mrs. Slater, a short and stout woman with a pair of matching eyeglasses as her husband, heaped a generous serving of boiled vegetables and steak on their plates. Though the two were much too dry and salty, there was true compassion in the gesture.

The three stumbled up the iron stairs to the second floor of the motel, walking past the endless red doors to number 32. Alex jiggled the key in the lock and it creaked open, unleashing the stale odor of the suite. Max wrinkled his nose at the smell, flicking the lights on behind him. There was only one bed in the center, covered in a floral quilt that had its share of stains. The room itself was mostly bare, with a small TV perched on a table to the side and a floor lamp in the corner. After tossing the keys on the bed, Alex walked to her backpack and dug, taking out her cleanly pressed pajamas.

"I don't know about you guys," she said, stepping into the bathroom to change, "but I'm tired."

It was just Max and Justin in the room now, and the dreaded silence returned. With no way to fend off the tension, Max walked to the only chair in the room and sat. There was a small 'Visit Vermont!' brochure on the table beside him, and he picked it up knowing it could keep him occupied until Alex was finished in the bathroom. He didn't even dare avert his gaze to see what Justin was up to.

Max's anger had not completely left him, although the fight had happened more than four days ago. As he turned a page of the brochure, he was surprised at the sound he heard.

"Max?" Justin said, barely a croak. Hearing his name from those lips was strange after all these days, kicking his senses into overdrive. There was no indication on what he should've done next, so with no other option he kept his eyes fixed on the brochure. The glossy picture showed a woman hiking through the woods with her husband, taunting Max with her perfectly white smile and her seemingly perfect life.

"Max. I want to talk to you," Justin said. Max slammed the brochure down on the table beside him and looked right into Justin's eyes, who was standing closer than he thought. He looked helpless, like his knees were made of jelly, tracing circles in the carpet with the tip of his shoe.

"Justin don't even try to talk to me right now," Max retorted when he shot up from the chair. It felt so good to say his brother's name, but he knew better not to savor it. He stormed to his backpack, yanking the zipper in rage, and pulled out a pair of track shorts. He didn't even care that Justin was standing right there and pulled off his jeans to change, but Justin continued.

"Look, Max. I need you to-"

"What do you fucking want from me? Huh? You want me to leave? Am I causing you to lose some IQ points or something?"

"Max, just sit down and listen to me for a second, will you?"

There was nothing left to do but sit down on the edge of the bed. The springs groaned under his weight like a pile of twisted metal.

"What?" Max asked. What he was expecting was an apology, perhaps for being such a jerk on the terrace that day. But the words that came next surprised him. Justin's arms were crossed over his chest, bulging with muscle.

"I'm horny and I need you to do me a favor. But if you really don't want to do it for me, I get it. It's fine."

Max's heart skipped three beats. He eased forward in his position, muttering half-constructed sentences in shock. It would have been an utter lie to say he was immune to sexual tension, because he wasn't. There were many sleepless nights in the days following that fateful Sunday, when jerking off in the loneliness of his room to a twenty-minute porn video on a shady website would never suffice. After all, he was a teenage boy in his prime with nowhere to release himself. And the thought of sex with Justin once again, no matter how mad he was at him, was terribly arousing. He hated himself for thinking that way, but his crotch gradually took full authority of his judgement.

If he had shown even an inkling of thrill, Justin would've certainly used it against him, so he tried his utmost to shrug it off.

"Not in here though, unless you want Alex to join in."

Justin's face lit up as soon as Max answered. "No, no, I was thinking we do it in the car. It's parked out back."

Excitement grew with each passing moment, but it became crucial for Max to pass it off as nonchalantly as possible.

"Whatever, Justin. I'm doing this 'cause I'm a nice guy. And the last thing I wanna hear tonight is you jerking off beside me."


	13. Chapter 13

The clouds had cleared from the night sky, revealing an infinite array of shimmering stars and the bright full moon peeking above the tops of the trees. There were no street lamps near the motel, so the two were guided only by moonlight and what remained of the flickering neon "Shady Pines Motor Inn" sign.

Justin closed the red door of the motel and locked it quietly behind him. He pocketed the key in his jeans and led the way down the balcony corridor and the wrought iron stairs. It was difficult to see so Max closely followed the silhouette of his brother, careful not to trip and make a fool of himself.

The night air was balmy, chilled only by an occasional breeze like a whisper from the forest. They followed the side of the building, running their hands along the wooden slats, past the closed window of the smoking room and a large green dumpster to the gravel back lot. And there it was: the rusting beige Sunbird, parked by a small tool shed beneath a canopy of pines.

Justin pulled the car keys out of his pocket and unlocked the doors. With an impatient hand he pulled open the backseat door, motioning for Max to step in. Max followed his brother's direction, crouching to sit, and watched as his brother silently got in beside him and closed the door.

After a brief, sweeping glance through the side windows, Justin pulled off his shirt and hastily tossed it to the front seat. His left hand fought with the button in his jeans, managing to pry it loose from the hole and then pulling down the zipper. A thumb slipped beneath the band of his boxers and pulled, freeing his cock from its constraints. It sprung up, engorged and twitching with every jerk of Justin's body - its head pointing up proudly to the roof of the car. Justin sat there, shirtless and his pants down to his knees, with his bare butt pressed against the fabric of the seat.

The mere sight of his brother's unclad chest was enough to pump life back into Max's manhood. When his eyes set sight on the rod of muscle, it took every fiber in his being to restrain himself from drooling.

It only seemed natural for Max to pull down his shorts as well, but Justin stilled his hands.

"What are you doing..." Justin asked, his eyes shifting from Max's face to the forest view out the window, then back again.

"I thought you wanted me to do you a favor-" Max replied, breaking off into a mutter.

"I was thinking more like a simple blowjob, so we can finish up before Alex notices we're gone. You didn't think we were going to..."

"No, no, I get it," Max said, disappointed.

He was surprised by his brother's frankness, but Max figured it would suffice so long as the oral sex was mutual. He hadn't realized how small the car really was until he turned to face his brother, struggling to plant his knee on the floor so that he was at eye level with the dick. With no stopping to catch his breath, he grasped the cock with his right hand, underestimating its girth. At the touch of his hands, Justin exhaled a shaky breath.

Max held it there, its familiar warmth radiating through his palm, and stared long and hard at it like he was reuniting with some long lost friend. He could almost hear his own dick fighting the cloth of his boxers to free itself.

Max pumped the muscle a few times till it was rigid in his hand, watching as the pre-cum frothed at the tip. It was certainly larger than he had remembered. There was a lapse while he gathered his bearings, but it was not long till Max enveloped its hardness with his mouth. The salt of its glaze filled his mouth, and there was going to be no stopping him now.

The blowjob was quiet, save for Justin's stifled moans and the occasional sound of slurping saliva. Max bobbed his head along the length, letting it hit the back of his mouth, unafraid when his gag reflex threatened to kick in. If there was ever a chance to let Justin know exactly what he was missing, he seized it right then in the stillness of the car. Justin's panting grew heavy and labored, and from the experience he had gained over the weeks before, Max knew very well that his brother was due to climax.

Max pulled his mouth off the cock and grasped it again with his hand, ensuring there was no pause in between. He pumped it with greater force until it gave way and spewed forth spurt after spurt of hot, creamy cum all over Justin's abs. Without any hesitation, Max leaned down till his chin was touching his brother's navel. Using his tongue to swivel in between the contours of warm, tightening muscle, he licked the juices off his brother's stomach. When he came back up for air with a mouth filled with seed, Justin's face was absent of its usual post-orgasmic relief.

"Thanks, Max," Justin said quietly, reaching for his shirt on the front seat. He put it on, his gaze never meeting Max's, and reached for the door handle.

"Wait," Max said, stopping Justin in his tracks. "You're just gonna leave without returning the favor?"

The car door was wide open, and the nippy forest air invaded the warmth of the car. Justin's eyes were filled with absent regard, looking down at his knees like those of a guilty man.

"I'm feeling sleepy, Max," he said.

To say Max was enraged would not have done his emotion justice. He was angry, yes, but there was a greater sense of betrayal which overcame him when the car door shut with a resounding bang. Max should have known his brother was going to do that to him. Thinking about how foolish he had been to fall for his brother's charm was sickening in his gut. He watched as his brother walked back to the motel with his hands in his pockets, becoming smaller and darker till he faded away into the night.

The silence of the car was deafening and Max sat there helplessly in the void his brother had left behind, the thump of his heart the only sound he could hear. Moonlight streamed in through the driver's window, scattered by the tips of evergreens, casting long and ominous shadows.

A lamenting wolf could be heard howling from some far off cliff, its strained voice mingling with the sounds of the forest. There'd be no use to sit here, Max thought. If he didn't jack off his aching dick he'd be left with a bad case of blue balls. But he couldn't bear the thought of returning to the motel room and facing his brother again. Justin, who had left him hanging like he was now, was not going to be worth any of his time.

With a bold hand Max opened the passenger door and stepped out of the car. It was not unbearably cold, but a thin t-shirt and a pair of track shorts were not enough to keep him warm. The bottoms of his shoes crunched on the gravel beneath him. Max squinted his eyes into the night, scanning the landscape, though there was not much to see. It was only the dilapidated inn, jutting from the ground like a heap of wood and iron, against a backdrop of dark forest.

He slipped his hands into his pockets and walked back the same way he came with Justin, when he caught sight of a glimmer in the woods. Max backtracked to catch another glimpse and saw between a hairline crack of leaves and undergrowth, a crackling fire. Curiosity immediately replaced his anger, and with no hesitation he changed his course and ambled slowly in that direction.

The sight of the fire grew larger, and when he reached the edge of the gravel lot, distant laughter hung in the air. It at first sounded like one female, but another, higher, shrieking laugh joined in. There could have been twenty women behind those trees.

When the laughter of the women swelled to a crescendo, another chorus of deeper, gruffer male voices chimed in - though they words were of a foreign language.

Max couldn't judge what they were saying - let alone doing - from his distance. He pulled a few leaves from his face and trekked past the boundary of the forest and into the thicket. There was a beaten down path leading into the murky depths of greenery, and with only the light of the moon and stars to guide him, he continued.

The voices grew louder, and it became apparent that they were not only laughing. They were moaning, grunting, sniffling, panting. With each of their sounds the thrill of Max's search, coupled with his arousal, grew. The need to find the source of the voices became his only desire.

After stepping down a trail of large, flat rocks he reached a small alcove of trees. A large birch branch blocked the view of the fire, and when Max pulled it away as quietly as he could, the scene was clear in front of him.

There were four people in total - two men and two women - situated beside a campfire. Two tents were erected behind them, and to the side was a large blue cooler filled with beer bottles. If the sight was that innocent, Max would have turned away right then. But he stayed. And his erection sprung up in his pants.

The men and women were all barefoot and naked, covered in sweat and grime, making love by the light of the fire. Two women were lying with their backs flat on the ground. The brunette had the longest hair and the largest boobs by far, but it was difficult to see her face. A man's muscly back was facing Max, but he knew exactly what he was doing to her. His butt flexed and softened as he thrust into her missionary style, and one of her legs rested on his broad shoulder.

The other woman was thinner, with blonde hair, having sex with the larger man. He too was muscly with the body of a circus strong-man, though he looked much hairier and older than the first man.

The sight would have to suffice to masturbate to, Max thought to himself. Just as his hand reached into his shorts, the first man shot a look in his direction. Max froze, cowering behind the branch with a hand in his boxers.

"Who's there?" the man asked, his voice booming through the forest. But Max remained silent.

"Come out," the man said, his European accent more pronounced than the last time he spoke, "Or else we'll shoot you."


	14. Chapter 14

When the man's voice carried to his ears, Max did not dare to budge. As if the whole forest had sensed his circumstances, the howling wolves and rustling trees hushed to the background till all that could be heard was the thumping of Max's heart.

With no other option but to surrender, Max pulled the branch away from his face and stepped into the clearing. He studied the expressions on each of their faces carefully, both of his hands up to show he meant no harm. The men stopped their lovemaking and pulled their rigid cocks out of the women, then turned to face Max.

There was a lengthy span of tension as Max stood in the light of the fire, the four nude adults surveying him from top to bottom. The hairier man shot him a suspicious look.

"Do you have any weapons on you?" he asked. Max shook his head in fear.

It wasn't until the brunette propped herself up on her elbows and flashed a warm smile that Max finally eased up.

"Relax, Vlad," she told the hairy man. "He's just a boy."

"We could use another one," the other man said, standing up like a dog on his hind legs to chuck some wood into the fire, his penis curved slightly to the side like Justin's. The blonde woman continued to eye Max silently, still lying down on the soft ground with the hairy man's hand cupping her breast.

"Come, join us," the brunette said, sitting up now with her breasts in full view. Max stayed frozen, unsure of what to do until she spoke again.

"Don't be scared," she continued in her motherly tone, laughing. "If these two try and hurt you, just tell me and I'll deal with them."

Max paced towards the campfire and sat down slowly. The two men sat on either side of him with their legs crossed and their hands twiddling the tufts of grass beneath their bare feet. On the opposite side of the fire sat the two women, their creamy flesh glowing red and orange and their boobs dangling freely. They all looked so perfect in the fire light, sprawled around like they had just stepped off the set of a high-budget European soft-core porn film.

"We must introduce ourselves first," the brunette said, pushing away a strand of loose hair and nestling it behind her ear. It was difficult for Max to keep his eyes locked with hers, especially with the silken swells of flesh on her chest staring right at him. The mounds were voluptuous and brazenly exposed, and the sudden desire to plant his face in their softness overcame him.

"Well," Max began, his voice cracking, "my name is Maximilian Alanzo Ernesto Russo, but you can call me Max for short."

"Nice to meet you Max," the brunette said, her accent more evident now than it had been earlier. "And how old are you, Max?"

"I'm 18-years-old, but my parents still treat me like I was born last week."

The brunette laughed, and her breasts jiggled. "You're funny, Max. My name is Anna, and I'm 28-years-old." She glanced at the blonde woman, whose breasts were not nearly as large as hers and poked out at him like peaks of flesh. "This is Elena. She's turning 26 in December."

Anna pointed to the man who had been having sex with her when Max first laid eyes on them. "This is Dominik," she said. "He turned 31 yesterday, actually."

"Yes, yes, but I'm not enjoying it so far," he replied, laughing. He was swarthy and tall, and from the front Max could see he had the largest pecs and the most well defined abs he'd seen on anyone. With a devilish grin still directed at Max, Dominik ran a hand through his dirty blond hair.

Anna shook her head and smiled. She glanced at the second man, who was staring down at his bare feet. "And this is Vladimir, but we like to call him Vlad for short. He's the oldest one out of all of us. How old are you, Vlad?" she asked him.

"I'm 43 and a half," he replied, looking up long enough for Max to see his thick, dark mustache and goatee. He was brutishly attractive with a chest less defined than Dominik's but certainly muscly, hiding beneath a generous layer of dark, curly hair.

Anna returned her gaze to Max, and arched her eyebrows. "So what are you doing out here in the woods by yourself?"

He couldn't tell them he was on a quest to see a wizard in the forest after having an affair with his own brother. Besides being unbelievable, it would be downright embarrassing. Max opted for the safer route.

"I'm on a road trip with some friends," he said. "What about you guys?"

"We're from the Czech Republic," Anna replied.

"Oh." Max said, his mind immediately drawing a blank at the mention of geography. "Is that in Germany?"

"No, no it isn't," Anna said, holding back a smile. "It's a separate country."

"Really? I could have sworn it was like, the capital of Germany or France or something. Or maybe I'm just confusing that with Russia."

Anna laughed, showing her set of gleaming and near-perfect teeth. "You're so cute, you know that?"

"Not the sharpest needle in the haystack, are you Maxim," Dominik intercepted, reaching for the cooler behind him and pulling out five cans of beer. After tossing one to each of his friends, he handed one to Max, who hesitated at the gesture.

"What?" Dominik said, incredulous. "You don't drink? You're 18, for God's sake!"

"Well I've never really tried it..."

"Oh c'mon Maxim! Live a little! The beer back home is a lot better but this will have to do." Dominik pushed the beer into Max's hand and cracked his own open with his teeth. "If I hear you're also a virgin then I'll have to fuck the living daylights out of you, eh? How about that?"

It was shocking to hear those words come out of a stranger's mouth, but the thought of sex in the woods with a hunk like him was arousing to Max nevertheless.

"Dominik! Stop that! You'll scare him!" Anna said with her eyebrows furled and her lips drawn in a thin line.

Max smiled, shifting the unopened beer can from one hand to another. "So how do you guys all know each other?"

Anna replied as the apparent spokesperson for her group. "Elena, Dominik and I knew each other from college and we know Vlad through some mutual friends."

"Are you guys on vacation?"

"Yes," she said, then looked over to Elena and back at Max as if for confirmation. "Yes, I guess we are. My friend Veronika is getting married here in America so the four of us took a plane, and then drove up here and we decided to make a stop on the way."

Elena, throughout the whole conversation, looked past Max and into the forest as if she were in a trance. The sight of her lifeless eyes made Max feel a little uneasy.

"Is she okay?" he asked, wary to look in her direction.

"Yes, she's just alright. That's just how she is, my friend Elena. Her head is always somewhere in the clouds."

There was a lapse in conversation, but it was not at all awkward. In a sudden brazen act, Max opened the can of beer, closed his eyes, and took a swig. It spilled into his mouth, a little more than he had initially wanted, bitter on his tongue. The alcohol was just as he had imagined it to taste, and when it went down his throat he felt like he had accomplished something big. Max took a glance around to see if anyone was witness to his milestone, but no one seemed to notice.

"So are we doing this?" Dominik said at last, breaking the silence. There was difficulty in judging who his question was directed at before he asked again.

"Maxim? You ready?"

Another swig of beer was passing down his throat when Max choked, stifling a fit of coughs. "What exactly are we doing?"

"We're going to finish off what we started until you rudely interrupted!"

"Dominik!" Anna said, her voice stern. "How many times do I have to tell you not talk to him like that-"

"What, Anna?" Dominik said in a high register, reminded Max of Justin's breathy voice whenever he was frustrated. "I'm a man! I've got needs! And Vlad's got his too! Right Vlad?"

Vlad grunted beside Max, breaking off into a barely audible chuckle. He rolled over onto his side to place his can of beer on the ground, then wiped his hands of the moisture.

"This is going to be interesting to watch," Elena said, speaking up for the first time with the slightest trace of a smile on her face. "I haven't seen you two do this since the nightclub in Prague."

Anna laughed. "Who can forget the nightclub..." she said through pink, thick lips.

It was hard to follow what they were talking about, and for yet another instance in his life Max knew he was out of the loop. After the giggles died down, Dominik and Vlad rose from their places around the campfire and stood beside Max. When he glanced up, they were standing there like two muscular statues chiseled from stone - one smooth and the other covered in a layer of hair. Their penises grew to their full, rigid size as they pumped with their hands, and it became clear to Max that Justin had nothing on these two.

Max's jaw dropped wide open when he saw them in all their naked glory. His dick was going haywire in his shorts and he was taken by the sight before him with absolutely no idea of what to do.

"What are you waiting for, Maxim?" Dominik said with a mischievous smile. "Take off those clothes and get to work!"


	15. Chapter 15

Max had never, in his wildest dreams, imagined fate would lead him to blow two strange but handsome men, deep in the woods of New York State. Every fiber in him wanted to go ahead with their demands, but something was stopping him from proceeding.

It was the thought of betraying Justin, clutching at his heart and squeezing it like a fist. His mind retreated to their week together and the moments they had spent in each other's company. But when he reached the fight on that fateful Sunday night, his position began to feel justified.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to," Anna told him slowly. "We don't want to force you."

Max took a long look at Anna, then back up at the men, towering over him like two swarthy pillars of muscle. His mind was clouded with lust, and there was little swaying him now. Without thinking, he chucked his sneakers and socks to the side, then pulled off his shirt and shorts in haste and got on his knees like he had rehearsed this a million times.

The cocks were glazed over with pre-cum, twitching and pulsing, and if he had misjudged their massive length he would've lost an eye. Max glanced up at the two men, their arms around each other. Dominik winked at him, and his heart swirled again.

Max closed his eyes, moving his mouth forward till his lips grazed the head of a cock. It was hard to tell which one he had brushed against till he heard Dominik's deep, disgruntled voice pushing him to proceed. He parted his mouth and slipped onto the dick, letting it go as far back as he could without choking. Max moved along the shaft with ease, his saliva lubing up the warm rod and his tongue sliding gingerly along its underside.

At the first touch of Vlad's finger against his ear, he switched to the other cock - which was slightly longer and even thicker than the first. With a hand holding on to his hairy thigh, Max bobbed along the cock, following a rhythm he had perfected over the countless times he'd done the same to his brother. The men's hands ruffled his curly hair as Max hands trailed back to their sculpted butts - a palm placed softly on each. It was evident by their grins that the men were more than ecstatic, moaning loudly into the woods and cheering him on with the drunkest of grins on their faces.

Most likely owing to the swiftness of the two men and the influence of the beer on Max's perception, the sex seemed to transpire in one long and continuous blur. One minute, his hands were jerking off both cocks and the next minute, he was on all fours. Dominik and Vlad were both behind him, out of his view, taking turns to loosen up his asshole with their index fingers. He quivered at their touch, and before he could catch his breath a cock was shoved past each ring of muscle till they were deep inside of him. When he'd least expect it, a cock would swivel right in front of him and Max would be stuffed from both ends. The thrusting would switch between the men, Dominik's long and smooth and Vlad's hurried and untamed.

In the frenzy Max was flipped over on his back with his feet in the air. Vlad entered him from the front, and all Max could see was his hairy chest swaying back and forth. It was like having sex with a viking.

As he pushed himself farther into the hole, Vlad's stubbly face brushed against Max's soft cheek - the smells of manly sweat and alcohol burning off his skin. There were moments when there lips met in the frenzy, battling each other but never breaking their hold, Vlad's panting tongue slipping into Max's mouth. The thrusts grew in intensity, but Vlad maintained his rigid balance above Max's moaning, writhing body like a man who was well experienced in the art of lovemaking.

Vlad released a final cry and in those fleeting moments Max saw Dominik again, kneeling over him as well. As if the two men had synchronized their orgasms, two streams of warm cum descended on his bare torso, covering him in a copious sheen of seed.

"The boy's a treasure," Vlad said, rolling on his back in exhaustion. "That ass is amazing. Was I good?" he continued, rubbing a large hand on Max's bare chest and toying his nipple.

Max panted, licking a warm drop of semen that had strayed to his lips. "You were both...amazing." More amazing than Justin, Max realized. These two men knew exactly what they were doing.

Dominik laughed, giving Max a pat on the back as he got up. "You did good, kid," he said, then hastened to add, "Anna, take it away."

Anna blushed wildly, then crawled over to where Max was lying down by the campfire. She didn't say a word.

Her touch was in stark contrast the men. With a gentle hand she toyed Max's soft manhood, pumping it back to life in her curled palm and gradually lowered her mouth to its level. The cock slipped into her lips with ease. She brushed her hair away with each bob of her mouth, and Max curled his toes. The other men jeered but their voices were muffled, just as Max had heard them from the gravel lot, and they grabbed their own cocks for another round of masturbation to what was unfolding in their presence.

Just when the first signs of an orgasm surfaced, Anna pulled off abruptly. Her eyes were fixed on Max, and with a smile she laid down on her back with legs wide open, revealing the pink folds of her pussy. Max couldn't hold himself steady. It was the first time he'd ever come this close to a vagina - let alone a woman - and he wasn't going to let his chance go to waste. He'd seen this scene a million times in porn, and if porn stars had taught him anything by now, it was to make the most of it.

Max grabbed hold of Anna's leg and guided his penis into the pussy, letting its moisture lubricate his dick and ease it into its depths. Anna released a long, reverberating moan. As he thrust himself deeper inside, he placed two careful hands on her wobbling breasts.

It didn't take long to climax, and at the first pulse of his cock, Max pulled out instinctively. As his seed spewed forth all over her chest, a familiar voice arose behind him.

"Max?"

Max froze, the cum still dripping out of his dick and into Anna's bellybutton. She looked transfixed on the figure standing behind him, but Max knew that voice very well. There was going to be no escaping this one. With his heart racing wildly in his chest, he turned around.

Justin towered over him, his arms at his side and his eyes wide and teary.

"Do you know him?" Anna asked, sitting up so that she was cross legged.

"Yes," Max said quietly, "that's my br-"

"Boyfriend," Justin said, cutting him off. "I'm his boyfriend."

The word was foreign to Max's ears, and to hear it from his brother's mouth made him dizzy.

"Oh, Maxim," Anna said, "You didn't tell us you had a boyfr-"

"Well he doesn't need to tell you," Justin shot back. He searched around the campsite for Max's shed clothes, picked them up with a sweep of his hand and used the other to grab Max by the wrist. "Come on, let's go."

"I don't want to leave," Max said. "These are my friends now."

"Not if I don't say so."

Dominik, who had been observing the commotion from the other side of the campfire, stepped in.

"You don't have to get angry, my friend," he said in his casual tone. "There's enough of us to go around."

"Yes," Anna chimed in, "your boyfriend looks like quite the catch. I wouldn't mind sucking his-"

"Max! Let's go," Justin said, his voice fiery but his face stone cold. Max complied and stood, taking the pile of clothes from his brother and slowly dressing.

There was hardly any time for goodbyes, considering Justin hauled Max by the arm out of the clearing and into the forest as soon as he put on his shirt. Branches slapped their bodies and twigs crunched beneath their shoes, and at last they reached the edge of the gravel lot. The motel stood fifty meters away, its neon lights buzzing into the night.

Justin swiveled around and held his brother by the shoulders, his breath warm on Max's face.

"What were you thinking Max?!" he said, his voice an urgent whisper.

"I was thinking I'd hang around with people who respected me," Max replied, looking Justin sternly in the eye.

"Respect you? If I hadn't gotten there in time those two guys would've pummeled your little ass."

It was hard for Max to look his brother in the eyes.

Justin continued. "They were just gonna use you for your body."

"Yeah, Justin," Max said, trying to pry himself loose from Justin's grip but failing miserably. "They're no better than you."

"No, Max," Justin said, closing his eyes. "I don't wanna talk about that. Please."

"Why? Huh? You don't want to own up to what you did?"

"Do you realize how worried I was? I had to lie to Alex and tell her you went for a walk and that you never came back. She was ready to call the cops but I told her not to. And it was _me _who went out in the dark and looked everywhere for you."

"Oh, sure, so once you find me you can lock me up and use me like a sex toy the next time you get horny."

"No, Max, it's not like that. You don't understand-"

Justin fell silent and released Max from his hands at last.

"It was just with her right?" Justin said.

"What?"

"Did you only have sex with her?"

"Yeah," Max said, "I'm not a slut." But he couldn't go on. He had betrayed his brother's trust. He knew it. But no matter how much he hated Justin in that moment, he couldn't bear confessing the entirety of what he had done.

"You really don't know how much you hurt me, do you Max," Justin said, his voice cracking.

"I could say the same about you."

It was the last thing Max said before Justin turned back, walking straight towards the motel with his hands in his pockets. The symphony of the forest returned to that empty space, but amidst the whine of his crying throat and the tears that poured down his cheeks, Max heard none of it. Not the rustling trees, or the howling wolves, or the first drops of rain that fell from the somber night sky.

* * *

**A/N: **Hope you're liking it so far! As always, please review and let me know what you think!

Remember, the final chapter will be posted on Friday, August 30th! :)


	16. Chapter 16

When daylight broke the next day, Billy Slater knocked four times on door number 32. It was Max who heard it first, sleeping alone in his sleeping bag on the cold ground of the room. Justin and Alex were fast asleep on the bed above, stirring at the sound of Billy's knuckles rapping on the wood but taking no heed to it.

"Car's all fixed," Billy said with his kind and crooked smile to Max, who conveyed the message to his siblings when they awoke later that noon.

After hauling their things down to the lobby and stuffing them into the trunk of the Sunbird, the three set off - heading north on State Route 28.

It was nearly a two hour drive to Tupper Lake - a town deep in the heart of Adirondack State Park and built on the quiet shores of Raquette Pond. The main street was home to one-story businesses, retro boutiques, and dilapidated gas stations. In the distance mountains rose like sleeping giants, their backs flecked with evergreens. It may have been known in the Wizard World for being the gateway to the forest realm, but there was nothing extraordinary in its existence. Tupper Lake was just a simple American establishment, nothing more, nothing less.

Justin's further research in the subject of love potion reversals led him overwhelmingly to one man who supposedly knew the way to the forest wizard. It was Mingan De La Ronde, a Mohawk shaman famous for his preservation of ancient wizard medicines and tools, and an amateur candle-maker by past time. His house was the last one on Broad St, its wood supposedly taken from the hull of an 18th century warship that nearly capsized in Lake Eerie.

The Russo's pulled up to his driveway at half past two. The engine sounded cleaner now thanks to Billy's workmanship, but their was little he could do to hide its age.

Justin led the way to the front porch, covered in small potted plants and glass chimes - some of which had long been chipped but hung like they had something to prove. Max stood behind Alex, peeking over her shoulder when Justin finally mustered up the courage to knock on the screen door with a shaky hand. It only took a few moments before they heard the approach of shuffling feet.

The door swung open, and before them stood a middle-aged woman - tall and slender, with silky black hair tied in a braid and draped over her shoulder. Her face was delicate like a doll, though when she smiled her eyes creased and her age shone through.

"Well hello," she said in a sing-song voice, her eyes shifting from one sibling to the next. "Can I help you?"

"My name is Justin Russo. These are my siblings, Alex and Max. We're actually looking for Mingan De La Ronde."

"Ah, yes. I'm his daughter, Nuna," she replied with an arm outstretched. Justin shook her hand weakly, then glanced past her into the house.

"Were you looking to buy some scented candles?" she said. "We're doing half-price on vanilla and honeysuckle if you're interested-"

"No, we weren't looking for candles," Justin said, looking back at Alex with a weary look, and she shot him back a 'get-on-with-it-already' stare.

"We're...we're wizards," he said.

"Were-wizards?" Nuna said, laughing with an arm on her hip in mock disbelief. "I've heard of were-wolves but I've never heard of were-wizards."

"No, ma'am," Justin replied, his face red. "Just plain old wizards."

"Well why didn't you say so!" Nuna said, opening the door wider and motioning for the three to come in. "Dad's in the dining room, but I must warn you, he's in one of his moods today."

Max followed his brother and sister down the narrow corridor of the house. The walls were cluttered with paintings, all of forest scenes. On their way they passed by two rooms - the kitchen from which appetizing smells of frybread and beef wafted into their noses and a living room with a television fixed on a game show.

The dining room was the grandest room of the house by far, its crowning glory a large, oak table with thick legs and draped with a deep crimson cloth. On the walls were shelves filled with candles and towards the eastern side, a large patio door overlooking the backyard.

Mingan sat at the far end of the table with a small book in his leathery hands. He was an old man, with short-cropped silver hair and a mouth that was in a perpetual snarl. He was stocky, wearing a deer hide fringe jacket which covered his body so tightly it might have snapped.

Nuna pulled out three chairs around him and motioned for the three to sit, but Mingan did not look up.

"Dad," Nuna said, placing a hand on his shoulder. He grunted. "These people are here to see you." She walked through the connecting archway leading into the kitchen. "I'll fix you guys some coffee."

"We're all out of candles," Mingan said, in a low and cold tone.

"They don't want candles," Nuna replied over the sound of water boiling in the kettle.

"Then tell 'em to scram. I'm reading."

"Dad, they're wizards."

He looked up with a penetrating gaze, then returned to his reading. "Okay, and so am I. What are they going to do about it?"

"Oh, come on Dad. They've come all the way from..." Nuna said, then glanced at Justin as a cue to finish her sentence.

"...from New York City, sir."

"Oh?" Mingan said, and a sudden interest arose in his voice.

"Yes, sir."

"That's chief to you."

"Yes, chief," Justin said, the hesitation clear on his face.

"And where in New York City are you from?"

"We're from Greenwich Village. It's in Lower Manhattan-"

"I hate the city. It stinks. Now _leave_."

"But-"

"I'm sick and tired of you high-flying city people coming to me for easy answers," Mingan said, laying his book flat on the table, then continued. "You've got ten seconds to get out of my sight or I'll call the cops on you three."

Nuna floated back into the dining room and squeezed her father's shoulder.

"Dad," she said, "just give them a chance to speak. If they've come all the way from the city then I'm sure its important enough for you."

There was indecision on his face, but he eventually surrendered to his daughter's plea. "Fine. But I don't like this kid. He looks suspicious," Mingan said, glaring at Justin. "Let the girl speak instead."

Alex was caught off guard by his statement, and came back to life upon hearing her name. She was known for her smooth talking, and so when she opened her mouth the story spilled out of her mouth with ease. It didn't take long before she got Mingan to smile. The words were sharp and snappy on Alex's tongue, and she knew exactly what to tell him and what details to withhold. As she spoke, Justin and Max looked on, mortified, but still in awe at their sister's gift of gab.

"So basically," she said to conclude the story, sipping the last of the coffee in her mug with pieces of frybread hiding in her cheek, "my brother's are in love now and we've gotta go see the forest wizard before one of them gets pregnant."

Mingan couldn't hold in his laughter. Nuna too was tearing at the story with a big grin on her face, though it was mostly in disbelief that anyone could pull her hard-nosed father out of his bad mood. Max and Justin sat, feigning a few chuckles, watching their sister mercilessly obliterate their star-cross'd love into a story of mishaps and embarrassments. That's what it was to her, after all.

Once the giggles died down, Mingan put both his hands flat on the table and arose from his seat. "I've got just the thing for you."

After retreating to the basement for ten minutes, Mingan returned to the dining table with a small, wooden box. He placed it down carefully, undid the latch, and opened it. The three got out of their chairs to look at the contents, and were both amazed and confused by the sight.

It looked like a pair of goggles, crafted with light-green glass and a leather strap which was cracked at the corners.

"What is it?" Max asked, looking up at Mingan.

"The Viridian Lens," Mingan replied, beaming. "Just put this on and the first thing you'll see is a trail of green orbs. They'll lead you right to the forest wizard, eventually."

"That's perfect!" Justin said, then hastened to add, "Thank you sir - I mean, chief."

"Don't mention it. Just bring it back when you're all done."

Nuna collected the empty mugs and plates of crumbs and retreated to the kitchen. The three arose from their seats, saying their final goodbyes with the lens packed away in their backpack. Just as they were leaving the table, Mingan leaned over in his seat and motioned for them to come closer.

"I almost forgot to tell you about the foligryns. They're everywhere in those woods."

"Foli-what?" Alex said, but Mingan was quick to correct her.

"The forest-dwelling foligryns. They lurk in the shadows and once they see you've got the Viridian Lens, they won't let you be. They feed off its energy. But whatever you do, _do not _let them take it. If you see one, get outta there as fast you can."

"But what if we aren't fast enough?" Max asked.

"Well," Mingan said, sighing, his face back to its stone-cold expression, "I won't be seeing you or that lens again, that's for sure."

* * *

By evening the Russo's were deep in the woods of Adirondack State Park, far from any remnant of civilization. The sky acquired its burning amber shade, and was mottled with wisps of cloud.

They were an hour's drive north of Tupper Lake. After leaving their car at the De La Ronde's and hitching a ride with Nuna, they donned their gear and trekked into the forest along a gravelly, ambiguous trail.

Justin led the way, the Viridian Lens strapped on his head, pausing every so often to recalculate his position. He'd stick a moist finger in the air to determine the direction of the wind, and then begin again. Alex was in the middle of the group and Max trailed behind, becoming sidetracked by the tail of a fleeing deer behind the trees or the whine of a forest cicada.

As the sky deepened in hue, Justin deemed it time to abandon their search for the night and find a suitable spot for a tent. It didn't take long until Alex spotted a designated camp site just beyond a curtain of spruce trees.

The Russo's set down their equipment, Alex in charge of starting the campfire and the boys taking responsibility for the tent.

There was little communication between Justin and Max as they fumbled with the tarpaulin and tent poles, but despite the silence and the tenseness between them, their brotherly instincts emerged. It was like one knew exactly what the other was about to do; they made a great team - about that there was no doubt.

The tent assembling reached its final stages. Alex was lounging by the fire on her camping chair, roasting two marshmallows while simultaneously on her phone.

The Russo boys were sweating like pigs. Max watched Justin struggling with a pole that had caught in the tarp, his sinewy arms flexing and the muscles bulging from his shoulders when he bent over.

Justin's white t-shirt was damp with perspiration, becoming translucent enough that the contours of his muscle pressed through the fabric like a tease. Max was enticed by the sight. He had long given up trying to conceal his lust, so he stood there, leaning against the tent, looking long and hard at his brother's straining body and letting his boner push against his shorts.

The pole pried loose from the tarp and Justin glanced up and caught Max staring. After a long and serious look at his brother, Max turned away to pick up the last pole of the tent.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Justin said quietly, afraid Alex might overhear. Max looked back and saw his sister listening to music, her ear-buds in and her feet tapping to the music.

"I dunno..." Max said, his eyes fixed on the ground and unable to meet with his brother's. "What are you thinking?"

"You know," Justin said, then shot Max a quick and unexpected smile. "We'll all be sleeping in the same tent tonight so there's gonna be no jacking off for either of us."

"Mhm..."

"Yup."

Their awkward exchange died down before it could flourish. Max knew last night was to blame, but his balls were bursting and full of unused sperm and he needed to take action.

"Justin?"

"Yeah?"

"About last night...I really-"

Justin quickly sprang up from his crouch and hovered close to his brother, their faces practically touching.

"I'm really sorry," Max said, afraid Justin would lean in for a kiss and he wouldn't know what to do.

"Don't worry about it," Justin said, his lips twisting to a half-smile. "It's like it didn't even happen."

It wasn't that easy for Max to forget what he had done. If he hadn't enjoyed the sex with the stranger's, things might have been different. But he knew he had betrayed his brother's trust, and the guilt consumed him.

"How about we...do it for real this time?" Justin said. "Just you and me. Like old times."

As he spoke the words, Justin had that irresistible look in his eyes and Max hated him for it. But he was caught in his gaze, trapped so deep in desire that he couldn't get resurface. His heart beat like the clattering engine of the Sunbird, unstable and free. His fingers pined for Justin's body. Without breaking his eye contact with Justin, he nodded.

"But don't leave me hanging this time," Max said.

"I promise. And if I ever do that again, you can push me into that campfire over there and I won't complain."

Max ached to hug his brother right then, but he knew his sister was just a few meters behind him.

"What about Alex?" Max asked, knowing she would see through any excuse they told her.

"Who cares about Alex?" Justin replied with a devilish grin.

Max waited by the tent as Justin strolled to Alex, who was bobbing her head to another song.

"We're gonna gather some firewood," Max heard Justin say. There was a long silence, and when he turned around he saw Alex staring at the both of them with both ear buds neatly on her lap, her face absent of suspicion but filled with pity. Max could tell, by the twinkle in her eyes, when she nodded her head slowly, that she saw in that pathetic excuse a last ditch attempt to savor what they had left.

"Come," Justin said solemnly, taking his brother by the hand and clasping it tightly in Alex's presence. It was the bravest thing Max had ever seen him do.

As Justin led him quietly out of the camp site and into the forest, Max turned back to see his sister. She was smiling a weak, half-smile, frozen on the chair. A breeze founds its way through the trees and tousled her hair, covering her face for a brief flash before Max turned around.

He could have sworn he saw her crying.

* * *

**A/N: **There's about three more chapters left to go, so stay tuned! As always, your feedback is much appreciated! :) I'm hoping my references to Native-American culture in this chapter (the names, the food, etc.), though few, were accurate. I did as much research as I could so I did my best, but if anyone with expertise on the subject feels something is out of place, just let me know.

The final chapter will be posted on Friday, August 30!


	17. Chapter 17

A gust of wind blew from the mountains, breathing new life into the evening.

They were a few hundred meters from the campsite, walking hand in hand through the hushed forest. At last, the canopy of trees above the beaten gravel path thinned and they were in open air once again, led to the banks of a tranquil lake. Fog hovered over the water, barely concealing reflections of the orange sky.

Max found beauty in the small things. It was the trivial fragments of the landscape that left indelible impressions on his mind, so that when he recalled the scene again, he'd remember only the details. The sun was hidden behind the clouds, burning its brilliant brassy hue, sinking slowly behind the tips of pines - its rays only to be consumed by the lake's depths. But he was not in awe by the sight.

What was most calming to him was the fragrance of the forest, something he'd never find in the urban jungle of Manhattan. For the two days he'd been among the woods, the smell was merely an undertone, barely noticed. But in that moment, on the shore of the lake, there was lushness around him, tinged by an essence that pulled him to the ground. It was Justin: his musky skin, the saltiness of his sweat, the sweetness of his breath against his neck. To him, they were the smells of a summer evening.

Max quivered when Justin's hands embraced him from behind. He leaned back and knew his brother would keep him from falling. Though he could not see Justin's face, he knew he was smiling. Brawny arms locked around his waist and the two of them stayed like that, Justin's head resting on Max's shoulder, gazing at the setting sun.

As if the troubles of the past weeks had disappeared like some bad dream, the Russo boys picked up exactly where they had left off. Lips brushed against Max's cheek and he was taken back to that night in his parent's room, when he'd first made love to Justin. It seemed like so long ago, but there was still a sliver of promise left. Fate had not given up on them yet.

Justin whirled around so that the two were face to face, resting their foreheads against each other. In those fleeting moments, Max's lips pressed against Justin's, moving together in perfect sync - heavy and claiming.

Max's hands fumbled across ripples of muscle, slipping beneath Justin's sweaty t-shirt and coming to rest on the small of his back.

A loon cried out from the lake. They were truly alone now.

As their lips fought in fiery passion, Justin's hands staked their claim on Max's body. They slipped beneath the band of his boxers, meandering between his butt cheeks. It was difficult for Max not to smile, but he wouldn't dare break the kiss. His brother's tongue slipped into his mouth, and he knew that this time it was for real.

Max must have been deeply intoxicated by Justin's embrace, because he didn't hear him utter the_ clothes-off _spell. A breeze must have knocked the words away from Justin's mouth, carrying them far from Max's ears. He caught a glimpse of Justin's waving wand, and within an instant, they were naked.

Max was pressed flush against Justin's bare body, his dick rising immediately to attention. He went limp in his brother's arms, letting Justin lay him flat on the soft grass below. When he glanced up, Max saw thrill in Justin's eyes, like they were going to discover each other's bodies for the first time.

Justin stepped one foot over Max's body, got on his knees, and swiveled around to a sixty-nine position so that his head was hovering right above Max's crotch. All Max could see now, dangling imposingly above his head, was Justin's hard, throbbing dick.

Justin had already beat him to it, gingerly slipping Max's dick into his mouth.

Max could feel the sweat prickling in his armpits. He shuddered as Justin's tongue slathering the underside of his shaft, barely able to savor the sight of the blowjob with the head of Justin's penis blocking his view.

Max had never sucked a dick upside down. He strained his neck upwards, but to his surprise the dick glided into his mouth with ease. As he slurped away, his hands followed the muscles of Justin's thigh, up till they reached his two ass cheeks. He spread them apart, pressing his finger on the entrance and listening to Justin's stifled moans as he circled the hole.

Without any warning, Justin released his mouth from the dick and dismounted, lying down flat beside Max with their shoulder's pressed together. Justin stroked his dick between his thumb and his forefinger, and Max took the cue to sit up.

Just as his brother had done earlier, Max placed a foot on either side of Justin's body and mounted, lining up the dick with his asshole and slowly pushing it in.

"I'll ride you like a horse," Max said with a devilish grin, watching his brother's face contort with pleasure. The cock was deep in his ass, and with two hands firmly on Justin's pecs for support, Max bobbed up and down.

"God...fuck...Max...fuck..." Justin said, his mouth agape and his eyes half-closed.

"You're not too bad yourself...Justin...oh..._fuck_..."

Max's dick tossed and turned as he bounced on his toes, sending strings of pre-cum airborne. Justin laid there, grunting and making his signature sex-face, holding onto Max's sides and supporting his brother's backside with his knees.

"Max...Fuck...I'm gonna..._oh_..."

Justin's eyes rolled back in his head and Max knew he was about to erupt. As deftly as he had mounted, Max pulled off and crouched over his brother's side, putting his mouth right on the head on the cock.

"Here it comes...MAX! FUCK! I'M GONNA..._FUCK!_"

Justin's back arched, his hips buckled, and after a final yelp, the dick shot its load into Max's inviting lips. He caught every wave of erupting juices, letting it fill his mouth before swallowing the salty semen in one hefty gulp.

"What do you think someone would say if they saw us like this?" Max said, his lips coated with warm jizz.

"I dunno..." Justin said, panting.

Justin was down for the count, lying there with a flaccid dick on his abs, still recovering from his post-orgasmic daze. Max knew enough to take the opportunity he was given.

He lifted Justin's legs, spread apart his ass cheeks and revealed his pulsing asshole. He bent down and placed his tongue on the crevice, slathering it with his saliva and gently pushing into the contracting muscle. Justin jerked forward but Max was relentless, swirling his tongue farther into the entrance until it brimmed with spit.

In his aroused impatience, the rimming halted. With both of Justin's legs resting on his shoulders, Max pushed the head of his dick into the hole and watched his brother quiver.

"FUCK, Max!," Justin said through clenched teeth, watching as the dick disappeared into his bottom. "Don't...stop..."

Max shoved into him without any mercy, thrusting his dick deeper and deeper into Justin's aching hole.

"Harder!" Justin said, his jaw tight and his sinewy hands grasping his stiffened rod. He rolled his head back in fatigue - panting - and renewed his grip. "Put your...back into it..._fuck_..."

"I'm...trying...Justin! Shit!" Max said, strengthening his hold and pushing his sweaty dick farther into the pulsing hole. Their perspiring bodies strained to the rhythm of their adolescent grunts, their gulps of burning saliva perfectly synchronous. With Justin's round butt pressed against Max's crotch, the Russo boys mustered up any strength they had left and heaved.

_Wait_, Max said, thinking to himself amidst the frenzy of moans. _Hasn't this happened before?_

Max felt his brother's brawny legs flex against his shoulder, but pushed the thought of his mind and thrust. "I can feel it coming Justin!"

The Russo's were city folk, born and bred among the skyscrapers and congested traffic of Manhattan, so when they heard the growling they did not know what to make of it. It was barely a distant murmur to Max, so his thrusting did not cease. Justin, however, instinctively tensed up at the noise.

"Max..." Justin said, his voice thin and his eyes fixed on the thicket of trees.

Branches snapped. Leaves rustled, and the growling persisted.

"Fuck Justin..." Max said, throwing his head back as his hips caught another burst of energy. "God...Fuck...I think I'm gonna..." he said, moaning in between his half-constructed sentences. But Justin stayed frozen, staring into the woods.

"MAX!" Justin said in an urgent whisper, placing his hands on Max's chest to stop him from moving. It took several tries before Max finally got the hint.

"What?!"

"Bear," Justin said. His answer was short, but he didn't have to say anymore.

"Bear?! Where?!"

"Over there!"

Max peered over to his side and there it was: a black bear emerged from the trees, staring at them with its beady eyes, snarling its displeasure with lips drawn up.

Max had never seen a bear in his life. The closest he'd ever come to one was at the zoo, but he was never interested enough in wildlife to pay any attention. It didn't look like it was moving forward, but its size was imposing nevertheless.

On the shores of some unknown lake in the forest, with his dick plunged up Justin's ass, Max was about to be mauled by a bear.

"Don't...make...any...sudden...movements..." Justin stammered, stiffening his spine. "Just stay still."

Max was teetering on the brink of his climax, and if the wind blew any stronger, he would have exploded right then. Justin's nudity was not helping at all.

"I don't think I can-" Max said, pulling his trembling dick from the depths of his brother's asshole, cum spilling over its head when it saw light again.

"Max. Don't move."

"Justin...I don't know about this...Oh God..."

"Max...Don't..."

"Fuck...Justin...I can't..."

"Max..."

"Oh...Shit Justin...I'm so sorry...I...I...Oh..._FUCK!_"

All it took was one extra glimpse at Justin's shamelessly exposed ass. Max shuddered, violently bucking his hips and yelping as he spurted the longest jets of hot, sticky cum he'd ever unleashed. Each wave of semen hit Justin square in his face, coating his skin with salty wetness.

Max's wail was enough to set the bear off. It stood on its hind legs, baring its dagger-like teeth, and charged.

"Run!" Justin yelled, getting on his feet and yanking Max by the arm.

There was no telling the bear's speed but they ran as fast as they could along the lake shore - two nude young men, with sweat on their chests and semen on their faces. The growls grew distant, but they took no chances.

The shore gradually steepened into a small cliff, extending down to the blue water below them. As if they had meticulously planned their escape, Max and Justin leaped from the rock face and tumbled into the lake.

When they surface, they kept their heads above the water and their toes precariously balanced on the lake bed, glancing around for any sign of the bear.

"Do you think we outran it?" Justin said, panting, keeping his head low.

"Yeah," Max replied, brushing his sopping brown hairs away from his eyes. It was crazy, thinking back to what they had just done. And as they waded out of the water, they burst into howls of laughter.

"You should'a seen the look on your face!" Max said, imitating his brother's wide-eyed expression.

"Oh, come on! You're the one who couldn't control your dick. We could'a died back there."

"Easy for you to say. How am I supposed to control myself when you're naked like that with your legs hanging above your head and your asshole all up in my face?"

Justin smiled, shaking his head. It was hard to tell how far they had run, but it couldn't have been much.

They lowered themselves onto a patch of soft grass and reclined, drenched in the lake water and shivering when the wind blew. The sky had changed to a wispy purple, but it was still light enough to see.

Max stared at his brother, who was looking out over the lake, and narrowed his eyes at him before opening his mouth to speak.

"Justin?"

His brother turned to him, and while he wasn't smiling, his expression was gentle.

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever had sex with anyone else? Like, I'm talking before this whole potion business."

Justin seemed tense, as though someone had exposed every one of his deepest secrets, but he softened up immediately and turned back to Max.

"Boy or girl," Max added, almost as an afterthought. "Doesn't matter."

"Promise you won't tell anyone?"

Max nodded. "Promise."

Justin sat up and wrapped his arms around his legs, bringing his chin up to his knees before glancing back at his brother.

"This might sound really strange to you," Justin began with a smile, "but me and Zeke used to...experiment..."

Max blinked at him. "Like with chemicals and stuff?"

"No...no...not that kind of experimenting...My first time with a guy was...well...with Zeke-

"Zeke?!" Max shot back, incredulous but beaming.

"Yup," Justin replied, blushing a wild pink and averting his gaze. "This was before he started dating Harper, of course."

"Tell me about it," Max said, staring at his timid face. "I wanna hear everything."

Justin exhaled deeply, then squinted at the sky. "It was probably like a year or two ago - I really don't remember. But we came back home from Alien Language League - it was a Wednesday - and Zeke and I were just, you know, hanging out in my room. Doing the usual stuff. And I don't know what happened. I guess we were just...bored or something and he just leaned in to kiss me and I didn't even stop him."

"I knew he liked you," Max said matter-of-factly, shaking his head. "I knew it."

"I couldn't really tell if he did."

"And you call me dumb," Max snorted. "Anyways, continue."

"Well, he started jerking me off and then he started sucking my...you know-"

Max laughed. "Cock."

"Yeah...and I did it back, you know, just to be nice. But then Mom came home with the groceries and we had to stop."

"So you didn't have sex?" Max asked, his gaze shifting momentarily to a family of ducks on the lake.

"I'm getting to that. About two days later we made a deal to meet again in my room and go 'all the way'. And...we did."

"All the way meaning..."

"Anal, Max, what else?" Justin said, then flushing as though the word was impure in his mouth. "I did him first and then he did me...and then I guess he realized he didn't like it that much so we never tried it again."

"But did _you_ like it?"

Justin smiled, shaking his head lightly. "Of course I liked it. I remember Zeke made these really weird noises when he came, like a dying alpaca."

"Seriously?" Max said, his eyebrows arching in amusement.

"It's all pretty lame once I think about it," Justin said solemnly, picking a blade of grass from his side and chucking it forward. "But I thought I'd just tell you."

"What? C'mon, Justin, that's the most adorable story I've ever heard. Do you still like him?"

"Nah," Justin said, and his voice cracked so faintly that Max barely heard it.

The conversation lapsed as they looked out onto the lake, but Max broke the silence again.

"What about with a girl?"

"Hm? Oh. Yeah...This was before Zeke obviously...Remember Tutor?"

"_My _tutor?" Max said, gawking at Justin in disbelief. "You did it with Tutor? Gross!"

"Yeah...but it was all a blur. I can barely remember it. I did it with Rosie a couple of times," Justin shrugged, his eyes darting from Max to the still lake. "And Juliet," he hastened to add. "They were all great girls...but I hated it."

"Why?"

"I hate vaginas," Justin said, blatant and cold. "Their like...endless voids of darkness. And don't even get me started on boobs."

Max grinned. "Then what about assholes? Aren't they like the same thing?"

"No, not at all. Assholes are a whole different ball game."

"You really think so?

"Of course. I know so. Assholes are much tighter, for one."

"I see," Max said, feigning his comprehension. "So you're like, full on gay then."

"I guess," Justin shrugged, "Are you okay with having a gay brother?"

Max smiled. "Um, _duh_ I'm okay with it!" he said, still in awe that Justin had just come out of the closet. "It's not like you're the only gay one in the family."

Justin playfully nudged Max's arm, then looked down at his bare feet. "What about you?"

"Huh?"

"Any sexual experiences you'd like to tell me about-"

"Oh. Right. I've never really done it with anyone until you, to be honest. But I've given blowjobs and handjobs before."

"Really?" Justin said, seemingly astounded by his brother's admission. "To who?"

"I dunno, there's too many to count. I used to be on the football team...and the soccer team and the baseball team..._oh_, and the basketball team...but I got kicked outta all four of them. We used to hang out in the locker room after practice and just fool around with each other. Nothing fancy."

Max could tell his brother was turned on by the way he shifted abruptly, supposedly to hide his erection, so he continued.

"I think the first blow job I ever gave was to the captain of the football team after practice once. Remember Brian Caruso? The big, beefy guy?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Mhm...it was a dare, I think, so I just did it. You'd be surprised at how many jocks at my school are really gay."

"What about with a girl?" Justin asked, his voice muffled.

"Last night was my first time with a girl, doing anything, actually," Max said, then grimaced when the memory of last night's argument briefly crossed his mind.

"Did you like it?"

Max quickly nodded. "Yeah, I'm surprised I did. Pussies kinda freak me out too but there's something about them that turns me on."

"So that would make you bisexual."

"I guess...but why put a label on it?"

Justin smiled in agreement, stretching out his legs and reclined on the grass. "Was she better than me?" he said, his voice uncharacteristically jovial.

"Barely," Max said with a mischievous grin. "I never thought I'd say this but I think I'm a slut."

"What?," Justin said with a frown. "No you're not."

"Yes I am, Justin, don't lie. It doesn't bother me, though. I think I get it from Dad."

"Dad? Why?"

"Oh come on, Justin. Dad probably fucked every girl he could when he was our age."

"You think so?"

"I know so, Justin," Max said, but he didn't investigate the subject further. The thought of his Dad doing anything sexual was terribly uncomfortable.

The sun was dipping lower in the horizon, and Justin and Max were lying closer to each other than they had been before, with legs and arms intertwined.

"Max?" Justin said softly.

"Yeah?"

"I've never told anyone this..."

"What? You're actually not my brother?"

"No," Justin said, hesitating. "I've always been self-conscious."

"Oh," Max said, though his mind wasn't processing the word. "Is that like, when you can tell the future or something?"

"No, Max," Justin replied with a flicker of his signature condescension. "I'm trying to say that I've always been...insecure."

"Insecure? You?" Max exclaimed. "You've got the body of an underwear model and you're pretty much good at everything, Justin, so I really don't know why you're complaining."

"_Okay_," Justin said slowly. "But I've always been so..._dorky._ Sometimes I wish I was you or Alex so I could just have let loose once in a while."

"Really?"

"Of course. I'm the dorkiest guy you'll ever meet. I listen to opera and I drink tea and I only eat thin crust pizza, which are all really, really lame things if you ask me-"

"Are you kidding me?" Max said, and snuggled closer against Justin's bare body. "But I love you for that."

Justin's face lit up at the words. "Did you just say you love me?"

"No," Max shot back with a nervous grin, but corrected himself. "I mean, yes, I did, but I meant-"

There was no use in clearing up the confusion, because when Max tried to speak, his words were silenced Justin's lips. They kissed, long and hard and if he didn't need to breath, Max would have kept going.

"I don't want to see the forest wizard," Justin said weakly when he finally pulled away, taking the words right out of Max's mouth.

"Me neither," Max replied. "I want it to be like this forever. Just you and me."

"Alex would kill us if we told her."

"We could just run away into the forest and never come back."

"I wish we could," Justin said softly, his thumb caressing Max's cheek.

"Is this our last night together?" Max asked, and the tears welled up in his eyes.

Justin reached down to kiss Max again, his eyes conflicted, letting his brother rest against the warmth of his chest.

They held each other as a denser fog descended upon the lake that night, in an attempt to fend off the cold and more importantly, their impending fate.

Max tried to keep track of all the details to ensure he'd never forget the moment: how many times Justin laughed at his jokes, or rubbed his hand against his cheek, or how many times they kissed before they walked back to the campsite.

He tried his best, but he simply lost count.

* * *

**A/N: **Did anyone notice the reference to Chapter 1? Kudos if you found it!

There's only two chapters left! I've been saying that the last chapter will be posted on August 30, but due to the nature of my hectic schedule, it may be postponed to the following week. Don't fret, because I will do my absolute best to make sure I can post it as early as possible!

As always, please review because your feedback is what keeps me going. I'm naturally a very lazy person and if it wasn't for you guys, this fic would probably have ended up being a half-finished train wreck. I love you all! :)


	18. Chapter 18

"Are we there yet?" Alex asked for the twelfth time that day.

"Almost," Justin replied. He removed the Viridian Lens carefully from his face, pulled from his back pocket a soft linen cloth, and wiped off the accumulated dust and grime.

It was Sunday afternoon, and with each step the Russo's took along an ever-thinning trail, the forest grew more dense. Max had absolutely no background in navigation, but even he knew that if they wanted to return home, there'd be no going back now.

His legs ached. His body sweat profusely. Every bone and muscle strained as he moved. And throughout his struggle, it was only the memories of Saturday which helped him persevere.

By the time they returned to the campsite the previous night, the sky had already darkened and the first signs of stars glinted above the tree tops. With no sign of Justin's travel wand to be found after outrunning the bear, the Russo boys were left unclothed. It would be difficult to sneak past their sister to the campsite, but they had a plan in mind.

Justin and Max hid a midst a cluster of birch trees till Alex dozed off by the fire. When absolutely certain she was asleep, they snuck into the tent and retrieved a few items of clothing. They tried to begin another make out session, but with Alex just a few meters away, it was deemed too risky.

It was the first time in nearly a week that Max had truly enjoyed himself. Any existing tensions between him and his brother disappeared that night, but was replaced instead with fear. The two of them did not want to see the forest wizard, but they had come so far - and to tell Alex what they were really feeling would have been catastrophic.

As much as Justin and Max wished to preserve their relationship, the thought of the future was unnerving. Their parents would find out eventually, and it wouldn't be long till word got out to everyone else. Afraid his own speculations would consume him, Max pushed the ideas out of his mind. He returned instead to every moment he cherished with his brother, and it was that which kept him going.

"Oh my god, Justin," Alex said, huffing in frustration with her arms crossed over her chest. "Do you really need to clean that thing every five minutes?"

"Um, _yes_, Alex. I don't want to confuse the trail of orbs with dust specks. We might get lost."

"If you keep this up then we'll reach the forest wizard next summer."

Justin glared at Alex. "Well why don't you put on the glasses and tell me how easy it is to differentiate between the two?"

"Can you differentiate a little faster, then? You're taking all day."

"You know what your problem is, Alex?"

"What, Justin? Huh? Is it that I have more common sense than you?"

By the way their voices raised, Max anticipated another argument. He just stood there, powerlessly watching Justin and Alex unleash their war of words.

As he silently observed, his bladder had other plans. He'd had two bottles of water since waking up, and the liquid was keen to make its exit. The need to relieve himself evolved from mild to crucial. Max glanced around, spotting a small dip in the land roughly ten meters away. It was small, surrounded by bushes and shaded with the large branch of a spruce tree.

"I need to pee," Max said, though no one heard his voice.

"First of all, Justin," Alex said defensively, taking no attention to Max. "I'm not the one who dragged us all the way out here-"

"Alex. I need to pee," Max said again, this time a little louder.

"And if we spent a little more money and took a bus rather than you're piece of shit car we'd probably be home by now-"

"Alex!"

"_WHAT?!_"

"I need to-"

"Okay, okay, go," Alex said in one impatient breath. And as though there was no pause in her speech, she turned back to Justin and resumed the fight.

Max's sneakers crunched on the forest floor, and as he neared the bushes, his sibling's voices dissolved to the background.

He undid his zipper, pulling down the band of his boxers and wriggling his penis out of his pants. It barely made it through the fly before it released its cascade, forming a yellow puddle on the dirt below. After squeezing the tip to drain the last few drops out of his foreskin, he shoved it back in his jeans. But when he turned, he saw that Justin and Alex were not alone anymore.

There were two other figures standing around them, dressed in long black cloaks and their heads covered in hoods. Max instinctively crouched behind a bush, peering in between the greenery to get a better look. His heart beat wildly out of his chest, but all he could do now was watch.

"Give it back," he heard Justin say, weak and distant.

"What if we don't?" one of the figures said, his voice cutting through the humid air like a meat cleaver.

Max could barely see Justin's face, nor could he hear his answer to the question. But his view of Alex's face was unobstructed. She was petrified - the corners of her lips twisting into a scream, her eyes desperate and clouded over with bloodcurdling fear.

"Who are you?" Justin said sounding slightly more confident, though there was still meekness in his tone.

A strong breeze rustled the trees so it was difficult to listen to their answer, but Max caught one word and latched onto it: _Foligryn_. The word was familiar. He knew he'd heard it before. And after a few brief moments of thought, the memory flooded back to him.  
_  
The forest-dwelling Foligryns. They lurk in the shadows and once they see you've got the Viridian Lens, they won't let you be. They feed off its energy. But whatever you do, do not let them take it. If you see one, get out of there as fast you can._

Mingan De La Ronde's voice rang clear in his mind. His brother and sister were in grave danger.

"Please," Justin said again, "Just give it back to us."

"You do sound awfully nice," the other Foligryn said, sounding more masculine than the first. "How about we make a deal? We'll give you the Viridian Lens," he said, but stopped.

The Foligryn lifted his arm and the cloak began to unravel, revealing beneath it a spidery hand cased in a black glove. His fingers wandered to Alex's face, meandering across her cheek and down the side of her neck. She stood frozen, her eyes closed shut and her lips quivering with fear.

"But you have to hand her over," he said, and the wandering hand came to rest on Alex's shoulder.

"You can't take her," Justin insisted.

"Fine," the Foligryn said. "We'll just take her powers."

When the creature turned his head, Max caught a hurried glimpse of its front, but he couldn't catch any of its features.

"You might as well take the boy's too," he said, pointing at Justin. "It might come in handy one day."

"You can't do that to us," Justin said, shaken.

"Why not? We can show off our _wizard _powers to our friends. It would be quite the party trick. Of course, you won't be around to see it."

"What?" Alex said.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you two. This might hurt a little bit."

The Foligryns shoved Justin and Alex with a sweep of their hands, and the two of them fell to the ground, sprawled in a crooked heap of limbs.

A surge of adrenaline pulsed through Max's veins. With every one of Alex's screams, his stomach churned. There was no time to deliberate.

Max pulled the bush apart and stepped onto the flat ground, standing at his full height, rustling the branches but unafraid of being heard.

It would be the bravest thing he'd ever done, but he had to do it.

Max inhaled, and counted down in his head.

_3..._

He spread his feet apart, planting them firmly onto the ground. He'd be unshakable.

_2..._

Another breeze rustled the trees. A Foligryn pushed its foot into Justin's side, making him squeal.

_1..._

Go time_._

"HEY!" Max yelled, his voice echoing into the woods.

The Foligryn's immediately turned around.

The sight of their faces threw Max off guard, and if he hadn't been so fixed in his suicide mission, he would have run away.

They had no faces; in place of them were blank, featureless canvases of pale skin. Instead of a mouth was a small slit, and when the creatures hissed Max saw their sharp teeth, shining like slivers of jagged glass.

"COME MESS WITH ME!" Max yelled again.

The Foligryns lunged at him, but Max dipped and weaved just as they were about to grab him. In the flurry Max deftly snatched the Viridian Lens from one of their hands, keeping it close to his abdomen, and chucked it to Justin - who caught it square in his palms.

"Run!" Max cried. Justin and Alex stumbled to their feet with expressions of fear and shock, and dashed into the forest.

A Foligryn delivered a blow to Max's back and he staggered, shielding the back of his head with his hands. His calf received the blunt force of another kick and he buckled, losing his balance.

The blood pounded in Max's ears. He heard his siblings' cries from a distance, but they were muffled.

Another blow came to his stomach, and Max smashed to the ground, landing on his back and staring up at the clear blue sky. The air wooshed from his lungs and for a moment, he could barely breathe.

A groan escaped his lips. The pain in his body was unbearable.

Thick, steel-capped boots side dug into his waist and Max went limp. The creatures were unrelenting. As he writhed in pain, another foot pinned him to the ground.

The last thing he remembered was the pendulum swing of the Foligryn's foot, aimed right at his head.

And everything went black.

* * *

**A/N: **I know I said last chapter that there were going to be two chapters left, but I split the final chapter into two so NOW, there are two chapters left, meaning this fic will be 20 chapters long.

As always, please review! It would mean a lot to me! :)


	19. Chapter 19

It was a strange thing to be dead.

Just as Max had imagined it, he couldn't recall a single thing. No sounds, or smells, or mysterious flickers of light. No sensations of hot or cold. Absolutely _nothing_.

It was like his brain had shut down for good - assumed it had done its dues and was ready to pass from this life into the next.

But like he had succumbed to a deep sleep, Max gradually awoke. His eyes did not open, though he could feel himself being brought back to his senses. Max knew he was no longer on the forest floor by the softness of fabric underneath his body.

And then he began to hear - muffled chatter; slippers rubbing against a carpet; the clinking of forks against plates. A breeze tickled his skin and he grew restless.

The scent of food tingled his nose and more of his nerves whirred to life. At last, his eyes broke open their seal of moisture, and he could see again.

His sight was fuzzy at first, though as it gradually cleared, he could make out the faint outline of a ceiling fan.

A blunt and throbbing pain returned to his body, but it was bearable.

"Ah," a man's voice said, stifled as though he spoke through a screen of thick glass. "See? My timing was perfect."

Max tried desperately to open his mouth, but to no avail.

"He's awake!" the man yelled, though it was still hard to judge from which direction the voice came.

A face peered over him and Max could see it in greater clarity. It belonged to a middle-aged, clean shaven man with graying hair neatly combed back, smiling a warm and hearty smile.

"How are you doing, little guy?" the man asked, inspecting Max's face with squinted eyes. "Do you need my help?"

Max mustered up every ounce of air in his lungs, but the only sound that escaped his mouth was a pathetic whine.

"Don't strain. Take it easy, buddy," the man said. "Don't want to hurt yourself anymore, do you now."

And then, as slowly as he had come to his senses, Max descended into his void of nothingness again.

* * *

The second time he slipped out of his unconsciousness, Max had control over his hands. The voices he heard chattering were crisper now, and he could just make out a sparse array of words.

Max pushed his hands against the bed to prop himself up, but a hand quickly grabbed hold of the pillow behind him to straighten it. When his vision cleared up again, Max saw the face of the hand that had assisted him. It was Justin's.

Like a dam had been opened, a single glimpse of his brother's face released a tidal wave of memories. Max had to be dreaming. There was no way he escaped the Foligryn's unless he'd made it to the afterlife. But the more time he spent with his eyes open, the more he was convinced he was still alive.

Max glanced at the room, realizing it was larger than he first judged it to be. Its paneled walls looked like those of a log cabin - covered in lavish floor-to-ceiling tapestries and abstract artwork. The decor was modern, each item carefully placed as though they were on display in an expensive furniture store. Across from the bed were two large and open windows, revealing beyond them a panorama of the forest.

"Max?" he heard someone say. It was Alex - he'd recognize that voice anywhere.

He turned is head, but tensed when a sharp pain shot up through his jaw.

"Slowly, buddy," the man's voice said. "Easy there."

"Where...am...I?" Max asked, the sentence requiring the unwavering effort of every muscle in his face.

"You're in a safe place, buddy, don't worry," the man said. "We're not going to hurt you."

He felt the touch of a large, soft hand probing the side of his head, while another inspected his arm. Max must have looked terribly confused, because he heard the man chuckle in response.

"No worries," the man said. "Just checking for any new bumps and bruises. It doesn't look like a concussion, though his face is slightly inflamed," he said to someone else behind him. "Just a mild head injury. No broken bones either."

"Is he going to be okay?" Justin asked.

"Yes, yes, there's nothing to worry about."

The man sat on the bed and faced Max. He pulled a small, gold pocket watch from a pouch in his sweater, then took Max's hand in his and to check his pulse.

"I'm going to ask you a couple of questions, son," the man said, smiling.

Max nodded.

"What is your full name?"

Max paused, waiting for the fragment of information to reveal itself to him. "Maximilian Alanzo Ernesto Russo."

"Good, good. When were you born? And tell me the city of birth if you can remember it."

"March 15th...1995 in Manhattan. "

"Good...what day is it today?"

The last time he was awake, he was sure it was Sunday. But Max hesitated, uncertain of how much time had passed while he was unconscious.

The man laughed. "Sorry about that. That's probably the wrong question to ask you. The drugs would've knocked you out cold. Today is Monday, by the way. It's 9:07pm, to be exact."

He got off the bed and stood, checking his pocket watch again before dropping it back in his sweater pouch.

"He's perfectly alright," he said. "If you don't mind, I'll go into my office and write up a prescription."

The man left the room, and just went Max thought he was alone, two figures stepped out from behind the bed. He could barely crane his neck, but he saw them take a seat on the mattress, one on each side: it was Alex and Justin, looking down at him with pity like he was a wounded animal.

"Justin? Alex?" Max said, smiling at the familiarity of their faces.

"I told you he wasn't brain dead," Alex said, nudging Justin in the ribs. "You should've seen how worried he was," she said to Max. "He thought you were a goner."

"Max?" Justin said, resting his hand delicately on his brother's legs. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Max replied. "I think so."

"Does it hurt?" Alex asked.

"A little bit. But I'm okay."

The man returned to the room, this time carrying a small, see-through bag filled with orange medicine bottles. He set it down on the side table, pulling each one out and taking a brief look at the withering labels on their fronts.

Max turned to Justin and tried to be as hush as possible. "Who is he?" he asked, pointing weakly at the man.

Justin smiled. "That's the forest wizard."

"Are you serious?" Max asked in shock. "_That's_ the forest wizard? He looks more like a really rich doctor."

The man laughed, dropping a pill on the table but swiftly picking it up.

"Oh god..." the man said, laughing. "Why do people still call me the _forest_ wizard? I thought I specifically told the Wizarding World to address me by my name." He shook his head in mock disappointment. "They add the word 'forest' to my title and suddenly I'm this _mystical_ being. Ridiculous."

Max watched as the forest wizard sifted through the bottles, though one question still burned on his mind. "So how did I get here?"

"Well," the forest wizard said, "You three were actually on my property when the Foligryn's attacked you. I heard you yelling so I looked out my window to see what was going on and shooed those bastards away. They're terrified of me."

"Really?" Max said. "I yelled that loud?"

"Loud?" the Wizard scoffed. "You practically broke the sound barrier. If it weren't for you, these two would have been good dead."

"Yeah, Max," Justin added. "You saved us. _And _the Viridian Lens."

Max had never guessed he'd ever be a hero. There were so many times in his life when he'd been made to believe otherwise, but now, for the first time, he was genuinely proud.

The heroic feeling quickly subsided, replaced instead by a thought which rudely interrupted.

"Did you guys ask him about the potion yet?" Max whispered.

Alex grinned, slapping the heel of her palm to her forehead. "I can't believe we forgot all about that. One sec."

As soon as his sister flew off the bed, Max suddenly regretted ever bringing up the topic. He saw Justin's face fall at the mention of the potion. This was it, he thought. They were in the same room as the forest wizard, and within a few moments the spell would be reversed.

Alex retrieved the empty vial from her bag and walked to the Wizard, who was still preoccupied with sorting Max's medications. She tapped him lightly on the shoulder, but he jumped in shock.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" he said, startled.

"Sorry," Alex said. "It's just this potion. It's pretty much why we came out all the way here to look for you. We need to reverse it."

The Wizard looked quizzical, and set the pills aside on the table. "What kind of potion is it?"

"It's a love potion," Alex said. "Max drank this a couple of weeks ago and now him and my brother are in love."

"Hm," the Wizard said, then took a seat in a chair by the bed, grabbing his glasses from the side table and put them on. "Let me see," he said to Alex, taking the tiny glass vial from her hand.

"Ah," he said after barely a glance. "One of mine."

Justin was caught off guard. "One of yours? What do you mean one of yours?"

"This potion. _Sherwood's Love Potion_. I made it."

"What? You?" Alex exclaimed. "I thought you were a forest wizard-"

"I am. But I used to be a potion maker." The Wizard smiled. "I completely forgot to tell you. My name is Dr. Allan Sherwood, by the way."

The room fell silent. They were all utterly taken aback.

"So can't you reverse it, then?" Alex said, the words leaving her mouth with caution.

"Well we'll see."

Dr. Sherwood pulled off the cap and set it down carefully on the table. He placed a finger on the mouth of the vial and circled it, then dabbed the residue on the tip of his tongue.

The Russo's watched with their breaths held as he let the taste linger in his mouth.

"Hm..." he said, trailing off.

"What is it?" Justin asked, his face sullen.

"Where did you get this?" Dr. Sherwood asked. Alex and Justin immediately glanced at Max, waiting for his answer.

He shrugged. "Oh. I found it in the lair. In Dad's trunk."

"Is this a trunk your father uses on a regular basis?"

"Well...I dunno," Max said, then thought back to that Thursday afternoon nearly three weeks before. "There was a bunch of things in there. Old magazines and some old letters and books and stuff. My mom's always trying to get him to throw it all out because she says its junk. Why do you ask?"

Dr. Sherwood frowned. "This _is_ my potion," he said, "but it's not a love potion."


	20. Chapter 20

The Russo's were stunned by the news. Another confused silence lingered until Dr. Sherwood clarified.

"It's a little complicated to explain, so bear with me here."

He settled in his chair, took a deep breath, and spoke.

"I was born into a family of wizards, much like you three. Quite modest. We weren't wealthy but we definitely weren't poor. The thing is, I had three brothers and two sisters so I had plenty of competition, mind you. I did eventually go on to win the family wizard competition, but somehow, the victory didn't give me any satisfaction because I soon realized that I was never really good at anything else. You see, the only talents I had were pretty much anything having to do with academics or wizardry. This was much to the chagrin of my parents, of course, who thought I'd end up as a lonely, depressed old man without a wife. So for so many years, something in me wanted to prove to everyone - and more importantly, myself - that I was capable of something great."

Dr. Sherwood sighed, adjusted his glasses, and continued his story.

"Things started to change for me in the eighties - it was a time of promise for me. I completed medical school, bought my first car - a _beautiful _black 1985 Honda Accord. I also bought my own place in the city-"

"Which city?" Alex asked.

"New York, actually. Things were cheaper then. Anyways, back to my story. It was New Years Day, 1988 - I remember it like it was yesterday - and there I am, standing in Times Square, 27 years old, and I ask myself: _what am I supposed to do for the rest of my life_? Well, doing what I did best, I went straight to my lab and got the zaniest idea to make a potion that would _revolutionize_ the Wizard World. You were probably not born yet, but there was this brief craze for love potions at the time and I knew right then, if there was anything that was going to make me rich, it would be by making people fall in love. Of course, it took me about three years of trial and error but I eventually came up with something. And keep in mind, back then there was no proper WPRB - Wizard Potion Regulation Board - so I got it certified quite easily without thorough testing. And can you guess what I called it?"

"What?" the three of them asked simultaneously.

Dr. Sherwood grinned. "_Sherwood's Love Potion_. It was only about a month or two after it went on the market that I got the first complaints."

"What was wrong with it?" Justin asked.

"Well, for one thing, the potion didn't do what the label said it would. The formula would just heighten the users' existing emotions."

"A sensory augmentation potion," Justin said.

"Exactly. It was quite the double-edged sword. For instance, if you happened to be particularly aroused one day and drank the potion and set your eyes on someone else, both of your hormones would be through the roof. The thing is, if you were feeling mad, the potion would naturally augment this feeling and you'd become...well...a murderous_ lunatic_. "

"So it can't make you fall in love with someone else?" Max asked, perplexed.

"It would have been a miracle. I'd be one wealthy wizard if that were the case. People started labeling it bogus and I even got a segment on this investigative journalism show called 'Wizards Behaving Badly," Dr. Sherwood said, chuckling with a hand on his face in embarrassment. "It was horrible. And if I had been a little more careful and a little less fixed on becoming proving my worth, I would've made it big. I had to shut down my business in the spring of '92 because it failed so miserably. Things weren't looking so good, so I appealed to the Wizard Council to give me employment, hoping they'd see me as a man who made an honest mistake, and here I am today. The 'forest wizard'. Of course, someone else profited off my failure and marketed the same product years later under my name, certainly disguised as a jab at me. Same purple liquid, same bottle - though this time it actually worked. Good for them."

Max frowned. "So what was it doing in Dad's trunk?"

Justin intercepted. "Dad _does_ have a history of holding onto trash. Mom and Dad got married in 1991, just around the time Dr. Sherwood said he was still selling the potion. I guess it was a wedding gift or something. It would've been recalled but he probably couldn't get himself to throw it away."

"I don't blame him," Dr. Sherwood added. "It might not make people fall in love, but it does make a mean shoe polish."

Max was still awfully confused, and he could tell Justin was as well. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Alex took the words right out of his mouth.

"But how are my brother's in love?" she asked. "That potion must have done _something_, didn't it?"

"That's an interesting question. If you drank it and you two are in love, then that clearly isn't the potion's doing. It would have been impossible for it to bring two people together like that, unless, of course, you had feelings for each other to begin with and only realized them after drinking it. And if that wasn't the case, then you two would have continued on as normal and there'd be no reason to visit me."

"So you're saying we were always in love?" Max asked.

"Maybe," Dr. Sherwood said. "I don't know. Stranger things have happened. Maybe when you drank the potion, you both happened to be aroused. And it just heightened those feelings, so I'm assuming you two must have..." he said, then smiled when he caught Justin blushing. "Released those feelings with the help of one another."

"Is there anything you can do to help us, then?" Alex asked wearily, after briefly cringing.

Dr. Sherwood shook his head and clicked his tongue. "I'm afraid not, because your brothers are not under the influences of any potion. If anything, the side effects would have worn off almost an hour after ingestion, so they are long gone. I guess you two are simply in love," he said, the corners of his eyes creasing with a smile, "No magic involved."

Alex sighed. "So you're basically telling me this was all a waste of time?"

"Only if you believe it was," Dr. Sherwood said. "I think you all learned a lot about each other these past few days."

"Whatever," Alex said, then leaned back on the bed in exhaustion, crushing Max's legs under her weight. "There's no use. I'm too tired to be mad."

Sherwood stood from his seat, adjusting the cuffs of his sweater sleeves, and rubbed his hands together with a grin. "Tell you what, Alex. I'm going to cook up something for dinner to cheer you up. Anything you want - _my treat_."

Alex thought for a moment, and then her face lit up. "I'm craving lobster," she said, then hastened to add. "With curly fries."

"Lobster and curly fries it is!"

Dr. Sherwood skipped out of the room with a youthful bounce in his step, shutting the door behind him so that it was just the three of them alone. It was almost pitch-black outside - the only light source being a lamp in the corner which cast twisted shadows across the carpet.

An uncomfortable silence returned, but just as Alex was about to follow Dr. Sherwood into the corridor, she turned to face her brothers.

"Look...guys..." she began, fiddling with her fingers, and then trailed off. "I'm really sorry for how I acted. And for anything I said."

"What!" Justin said in mock surprise. "Alex Russo? _Apologizing?_"

"Oh shut up, Justin. You're lucky I haven't punched you in the face yet for all of this."

Max smiled. "I don't blame you at all, Alex."

She sighed. "If I knew this was real all along I probably would've been more understanding."

"It's fine, Alex," Justin said. "Let's just put the whole thing behind us and forget about it."

She glanced down at her hands, and a sudden smile flashed across her face. "Before I go, I wanna lay down some ground rules."

"Rules?" Justin said in surprise.

"Yeah. First of all, no kissing or touching or anything gross when I'm around. It's gonna take me a while to get used to that."

"Done," Max said, shaking his head with a grin.

"And if you guys are ever gonna..." she trailed off, glanced at both of her brothers, and continued. "If you're ever gonna _do it_, please, _please _don't tell me about it."

"That's alright with us," Justin said, his face beet red.

"And last but not least, we _never_ speak of this to anybody. _Never_. Not even Mom or Dad. Deal?"

"Deal," Max and Justin said simultaneously.

"Good. Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna go eat something before I pass out like Max did." Alex exited the room, shutting the door with a 'bang' behind her.

Silence filled the room again, until Justin shifted up the bed so that he too was resting on the pillow, right beside Max.

"Justin?" Max asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"I'm really sorry for drinking the potion."

"Why?" Justin asked with alarm in his voice.

"I mean, it's caused so much trouble. I always mess things up-"

"But it wasn't your fault," Justin said, clasping Max's hand in his. "Not this time, at least. What we've got is the real deal, Max. Isn't that amazing?"

Hearing his brother speak those words made him feel warm. Justin swiveled around so that he was facing his brother, with one leg dangling off the bed and the other tucked under his bottom.

"The potion might not have worked, but you put me under your spell," he said. "And I'm so glad you did."

Max smiled. In that sentence, he heard promise that things were going to be okay. And then, without any warning, he witnessed something he'd rarely ever seen: his brother was crying.

"Justin?" Max said, reaching out to his forearm. "What's wrong?"

Justin sniffled, rubbing his running nose with the back of his hand. "I've been so mean to you, Max. I'm so sorry-"

"Look. If this is about that fight on the terrace then I've already forgiven you. We're brothers, Justin, that's what we do. We fight and then we make up." Max paused, and grinned. "Okay, in our case, we fight and then we have really hot sex."

He heard Justin chuckle at his comment and the tears gradually ceased, though when he spoke his voice was trembling.

"I'd do anything for you, Max," Justin said, staring boldly into his eyes. "I won't hurt you again. I'll protect you no matter what."

"I'd try to protect you too, but if you haven't already noticed," Max said, pointing at his bruised arm, "I'm not very good at it."

They hugged, laughing until their chests grew weak and their mouths were dry. When they pulled from the embrace, Justin snuggled beside his brother again and slipped both his legs beneath the covers. He leaned on Max's shoulder and slowly caressed his arm - the gesture absent of anything sexual but filled with a lover's passion.

Max was drifting off to sleep, but in the last moments before he slipped into his nothingness he saw a dark figure enter the room.

It was Alex, pulling up the covers over him and Justin. She stood there for a long time, smiling, then turned off the light and left.

* * *

The ride back home on the following day flew by without any of the obstacles they'd faced on Friday. Dr. Sherwood led them back through the woods on a shortcut to the main road, where Nuna eventually picked them up. After returning the Viridian Lens to Mingan, they rode in the Sunbird back through the quaint suburbs of New York State till they saw the promising sight of gleaming skyscrapers lining the horizon.

The Russo's were in Manhattan by evening, getting caught in the unbearable rush hour traffic but managing to reach their loft in Greenwich Village by sunset.

Justin took the most responsibility in unloading their equipment, not allowing Max to carry any of it for fear it would stifle his recovery. Once everything had been unloaded, Alex made a beeline for the shower - leaving Justin and Max with nothing to do but enjoy the evening air on the terrace.

The sun was setting, its rays glinting off the glass windows of buildings and creating a spectacle of golden light. They watched, arms around each other's waists and leaning against the concrete railing, as the traffic below them crawled along the street like ants.

Every once in a while they would catch each other staring, press their lips together for a kiss, and then return their gazes to the urban landscape.

Max smiled after a quick peck on Justin's cheek. "Do you think we could get married one day?" he asked.

Justin looked amused by the thought. "I suppose we could. We'd have to apply to separate our sibling relationship from the Wizard Council. It would be like we were never brothers."

"I guess we could actually have a wedding then," Max said, eager. "What about kids?"

Justin laughed, but left the question unanswered.

"You'd be the responsible dad and I'd be the fun dad," Max said. "You could help them with their homework and I'd show them how to pick up chicks. And dudes, of course."

Justin shook his head, smiling. There was a lapse in their conversation, but Max swiftly filled the void.

"How are we supposed to tell Mom and Dad?" he asked.

Max didn't receive an answer for quite some time, and when he glanced at his brother he saw he was still squinting out onto the horizon.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Justin said, sighing.

The future was not going to be easy. They both knew that. But Max was assured, for the first time in his life, that fate could still work in his favor.

Though his legs were already making a fast recovery, standing upright was making them pain more than they should have. Max slowly retracted from Justin's grip to sit down, and with his eyes still fixed on the panorama of the city, he stepped back until his shins hit the edge of the patio chair.

And when his bottom met the flatness of the seat, he heard a resounding crack.

Justin turned at the sound, the iconic look of rage on his face - with eyebrows furled, eyes widened, lips snarled and teeth clenched.

"Max..."

"I swear it was like that when I sat on it..." Max said, lifting himself carefully off the chair. He stuck his hand beneath him and pulled out the remnants, revealing in his palm a magic wand: it was his brother's, split into three jagged pieces.

Justin closed his eyes. "You have five seconds to run."

"I'm really sorry-"

"Five..."

"It was an accident..."

"Four..."

Max swallowed an uneasy lump in his throat. "I'll buy you a new one-"

"Run!"

Like a fire had been lit under his chair, Max shot up and darted out of the terrace, through the patio door and into the living room. Unable to reach his full speed, he limped to safety - but by the time he reached the staircase, two arms locked around his waist and swiveled him around. He was caught.

Max squirmed in Justin's embrace, his stomach hurting with laughter. "That's not fair, bro," he said, wriggling in his grip. "I'm injured. I deserve a head start."

Though there was clearly rage in Justin's face, it was by no means genuine. He was smiling a devilish grin, squeezing Max tighter whenever he tried to escape.

At last, Max gave up his efforts and stood there, staring up at his brother, standing on his toes to give him an apologetic kiss.

A familiar yearning glimmered in Justin's eyes. "How about we take this upstairs?" he whispered into Max's ear.

Max smiled. "What if Alex sees us?"

It was strange to see Justin shrug it off. A sudden bravado entered his voice - one that Max had never expected hear but found strangely enticing.

"Relax," Justin said with a sly wink of his eyes. "We'll be alright."

Max buried his head in Justin's chest, resting his cheek so he could listen to the beat of his heart, smiling so big he couldn't stop himself. He took one large and hearty breath into his shirt - the muskiness of his sweat and an undertone of forest so utterly masculine he could have mistaken it for an expensive cologne.

Shadows on the living room floor grew long. When the sun dipped below the sky's edge, the Russo boys were already in Max's room with the door closed and locked just in case. The head of the bed thumped its glorious rhythm against the wall and reverberated through the loft to the rhythm of their thrusting bodies. It wouldn't be the greatest love they'd ever make, but it would suffice for the day. Just a simple release to ease their urges and a short nap to follow - maybe even a shower together - before they returned downstairs to have their dinner in front of the television.

Beyond the walls of the apartment, the metropolis whirred to life.

July's heat hung thick like a blanket over the high-rises of Manhattan Island, creeping into every opened window and alleyway. The hazy sky lingered with the brilliant orange afterglow of sunset, every last ray dissipating with the hour till none of it was left. The rush-hour traffic gradually relented its endless rumble, but the people always moved - weaving a never-ending human story of life and love in every low-rise loft and side street deli.

The evening sky deepened to dusk, and the stars peeked from their slumber to greet the stirring city.

Night had set in on Waverly Place.

**_The End_**

* * *

**A/N: **And there you have it! Under Your Spell is complete! I didn't think this day would come, but it has, and I'm so grateful to everyone who made it possible.

**If you've got any questions about this fic, send them to me through a personal message (i.e. something about the story that didn't quite make sense to you, something that bothered you, etc).**

**I'm going to post an afterward soon to clear up some inconsistencies and answer all your questions (you'll remain anonymous, so ask me whatever you want!).**

It will be up soon, but it's goodbye for now!

- Cameron Zinner

*Note: the second last line was taken from chapter 3, if anyone noticed! :)


	21. Author's Afterword

First off all, I'd like to say sorry if any of you got excited after seeing this update. My sincere apologies.

Anyways, I want to thank every single person who read this fic. Even if you didn't follow, favorite, or review, you are still important to me because you actually took your time to click on my story and, in most cases, read the first chapter and immediately clicked off. I love all of you unconditionally!

Like I've mentioned so many times, I do not own Wizards of Waverly Place nor do I have any affiliation with the Disney Channel.

You've all been sending me questions about this fic and I want to say thank-you for that. I picked a few and I'm going to answer them as best as I can. Here it goes!

**What's your opinion about incest? Would you consider it to be "normal" between two consenting adult relatives?**

In my honest opinion, as long as it is between **consenting adults **(the key words here being **consenting **and **adults **above the age of 18) it is perfectly alright. In my story, Max is 18 years old and Justin is about 21 or 22, so their relationship is perfectly acceptable.

And this is not restricted to incest specifically. I believe that love sees no gender, colour, relation, sexual orientation, etc. Whether it is a man and a woman, or two men, or two women, or one man and fifteen women, or five men - I see their love as all the same, so long as they are **consenting adults**.

I want to say right off the bat that just because society labels something as immoral, does not by any means define it as wrong. We only think it's wrong because we've been _told_ to think it is wrong. Incest is such a taboo and I really don't think it should be. Neither should polygamy. It wasn't so long ago that gay-marriage - or even interracial marriage for that matter - were social taboos as well, and I am so glad that we're living in a time when marriage equality is finally being realized. But this is only part of the equation.

Yes, I'm _ecstatic _that my gay, straight, transgender, bisexual, black, white, etc. etc. brothers and sisters from all walks of life are gradually being given their right to seal their love for each other in something so special and unique as marriage. But at the same time, equality is not truly equality unless _everyone_ is equal.

And in my opinion, until all consenting adults - including those who are related - have the freedom to be together, then we as a society are not doing such a great job.

(Something **I do not** **condone under any circumstances** are adult-child relationships (be it incestual or not), and that is a whole other topic I will not go off on a tangent about here. If you have not noticed, all my characters in these fics are above the age of 18).

**TL;DR**: I support any kind of relationship between **consenting adults** (incest, polygamy, gay marriage, interracial marriage, straight marriage, no marriage - all are included). They are perfectly fine by me.

**What was your inspiration for bringing Justin and Max together?**

I've actually been watching Wizards of Waverly Place since the day the very first episode aired (which I had to look up and it was October 12, 2007), and I was pretty much hooked. I was only a tween then so the idea of shipping characters didn't have too much of a profound impact on me. This all changed once I hit about 16 and discovered the wonderful world of fan fiction.

I love, love, _love _the chemistry between every single character on this show (which is probably why I enjoy it so much, even to this day). I think Alex and Justin have the greatest chemistry by far since they get the most airtime, and as you have probably seen in this fandom, the fan-fiction possibilities are truly endless.

I got the inspiration of bringing Justin and Max together because I particularly enjoyed seeing how the brothers interact (one being the smart cocky one and the other being light-hearted and carefree). This story started out as a one-shot, but I loved the pairing of their personalities so much that I figured I needed to explore their relationship a little deeper (since in the show, it is only restricted to a few cheesy one-liners and leaves us viewers in the dark).

**What was your favorite part about this story?**

My favourite part about this story was definitely developing Max's character. The fact that I got to spend a few months in the mind of Max Russo makes me appreciate the show even more than I did before, because I feel like I have a little more understanding of who he is as a person and how he sees the world (even though I fabricated some of his traits/thoughts for the sake of my story).

**When ****_exactly _****does this story take place (with respect to the actual series)?**

Now, I don't know if you all noticed, but this story does not fit the time frame outlined by the show. When I started writing this, I stated that this takes place during Season 4, but sometime before the wizard competition. _However_, in my fic, Max is already 18 years old when he really should have been about 16 years old (since the show's finale was in January, 2012).

To be honest, I never took any of this into consideration when I started writing, but towards the end it began to bother me.

I wrote this story as though it were taking place in 2013 (hence Max's age) and the wizard competition was pushed back about 1-2 years. Despite this inconsistency, everything that comes about as a result of the finale still holds true (Max loses his wizard abilities, Alex becomes the family wizard, etc.).

I realize it's pointless to make the timelines fit exactly. If I were truly making this fic accurate, then there wouldn't be a relationship between Justin and Max in the first place.

**Are all of the places you mentioned in this story real?**

Yes, all locations and towns mentioned in this fic (Harsimus Cove, Tupper Lake, Williamsburg, Adirondack State Park, Central Park etc.), with the exception of the motel in Chapter 12 are all _real _places.

**Have you ever been to New York City?**

Nope, but I'd love to go sometime! It seems like such an awesome place!

**Is there going to be a sequel?**

My writing will be scarce for the coming year since I am beginning an intensive university program, and as much as I want to write, it will be difficult. I am, however, entertaining the thought of a possible sequel to this fic next summer (before I go on, I want to say that I am making absolutely no promises about this).

So far it's untitled, but I have a general idea of what it will include.

It will mainly take place about 12-15 years after the events of Under Your Spell (so Max and Justin are now in their thirties). It'll be told through a series of flashbacks, and there will be more original characters (and a few familiar faces). I don't want to say too much, so all I am going to reveal is that yes, Max and Justin still live together in New York City. But are they married? Do they have any kids? And do Jerry and Theresa know about their relationship?

That's all I'm saying for now! Once again, there are no promises that I will write this, though I really would like to.

Until then, I just want to say that I've had so much fun writing this fic, and while I will be on hiatus for a little while, I hope to come back and write even more!

Cheers,

Cameron Zinner


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